Charlottetown murderer drops appeal

A Charlottetown man serving a life sentence for murder has abandoned his appeal.

John Rayner, 47, was convicted three years ago of killing Chrystal Beairsto in 2002.

During his trial he told the judge he was innocent, but did not take the stand to defend himself.

His lawyer did not offer any explanation for the evidence the Crown presented against him.

He filed his own appeal a month after he was sentenced to life in prison, arguing he was convicted on circumstantial evidence. He dropped that appeal this week.

Beairsto, a 23-year-old mother of two, was stabbed to death in July, 2002. Her body was found just off the Confederation Trail in Charlottetown.

Police spent three years hunting for her killer, making for an unsettling time on P.E.I.

DNA evidence

There were no witnesses and no murder weapon was found. In his trial, witnesses said they saw Rayner on the trail the day Beairsto died.

Experts said there were "strong indications" that DNA found at the murder scene was his.

The police did not find anyone who saw Rayner and Beairsto together on the Confederation Trail the day she died.

It was not clear if Beairsto knew Rayner.

P.E.I. Supreme Court Justice Wayne Cheverie said in 2007 that the only reasonable conclusion was that Rayner had killed Beairsto and convicted him of first-degree murder.

Rayner wrote a letter to the court this week to drop the appeal, saying only that pursuing an appeal was not in his best interest.

He will continue to serve his life sentence at Dorchester Penitentiary in New Brunswick.

He is not eligible for parole until 2030.