Boris Panovski found not guilty in retrial of Don Frigo shooting death

Boris Panovski, previously convicted in the shooting death of a competing dog owner, has been found not guilty in a re-trial.

On Friday, the 80-year-old walked out of the St. Thomas courthouse a free man, but also an angry man.

“I feel not too good. 10 years, my best life, went into jail for no reason at all,” Panovski told CTV News.

In a court proceeding that lasted nine weeks, Panovski was found not guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Don Frigo and not guilty of aggravated assault in the shooting of Frigo’s wife, Eva Willer Frigo, in September 2014. The verdict was overturned last year and a retrial ordered, with the case moving to St. Thomas.

“Never were police looking for the killer,” charged Panovski. “Once my own son told the police I killed him because the dog changed name. It’s all about the dog. And police let the killer enjoy his own life for ten years and destroyed, police, my life, my own life,” he exclaimed.

Panonvski and the victims were active in the bird-dog world. Don Frigo and wife Eva were on horseback at a field dog competition at Hullet Marsh, north of Clinton, Ont. in September 2014 when he was killed and she was wounded after being shot.

In his verdict, Justice Marc Garson stated the following:

There is clearly strong circumstantial evidence, it is however not strong enough. Am I suspicious? Absolutely. Do I think he may have been involved in the shooting? I do. Was he in the area? He was. Am I sure he was the shooter? I am not. Am I sure his car was in lot 40589 at the time of the shooting? I am not. Has the crown proven his identity as the shooter beyond a reasonable doubt? They have not. For the above reasons I find the accused not guilty on both counts.

Garson also pointed out that although there were similarities in the descriptions of various witnesses, no witness specifically identified Panovski as the man they saw in the marsh that day.

Defence attorney, Margaret Barnes, said it was just one of a number of factors influencing the decision.

“Identification was certainly one of them,” she said. “However, it was the cumulative effect of the evidence that was presented to the court, by both parties, that just stopped his honour from getting beyond a reasonable doubt that Mister Panovski was, in fact, guilty of this crime,” she explained.

Defence lawyer Margaret Barnes speaks to CTV News London at the St. Thomas courthouse in St. Thomas, Ont. on Aug. 16, 2024. (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London)

Barnes added that her client is both overwhelmed and afraid for his own life.

“My client is now petrified for his own safety, based on some concerns he’s had over his own theory of the homicide,” said Barnes. “Where does he go from here? He has to rebuild the ten years of his life that he lost.”

“He is a free man, as of this moment,” she added. “He is feeling overwhelmed.”

As for Panovski, with ten years of his life gone and no longer close to his family, he doesn’t know what’s next.

“I still don’t know what I’m doing. I’m confused right now. I’ve been destroyed for ten years, my life destroyed. Now I can’t care anymore where my life is going to go,” said Panovski.

With the rain pouring down, the octogenarian then got into the backseat of an SUV with his lawyer and they drove off, leaving the St. Thomas courthouse and a dark and confusing chapter in his life behind him.