B.C. Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes delivered her decision Friday morning. Klein, who was 21 years old at the time, was charged with one count of second-degree murder and one count of aggravated assault. Holmes found him guilty on both counts.

He has not denied killing Reimer, but his defence lawyer argued that because of his state of mind at the time, he should have been found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter, rather than murder.

Klein has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and suffers from auditory hallucinations, paranoid delusions and thought disorder.

On Friday in court he sat in the prisoner’s dock wearing a green outfit and looked like he had gained weight since his arrest in 2016. His hair was curly and bushy, a contrast to the security images that were circulated from the day of the killing.

In her ruling, Holmes said Klein’s statements made to police, doctors and corrections officers about his mental state at the time of the attack were inconsistent.

She told the court they «can have extremely little weight.» The judge said there was nothing to show he wouldn’t have known the consequences of his actions.

The stabbing happened as the two girls were studying in the hallways of Abbotsford Senior Secondary School.

Klein had been staying in a homeless shelter at the time, and entered the school through a hallway connected to the library. Evidence in the case showed the killer stealing alcohol and a hunting knife in the hours before the attacks.

Several Abbotsford residents testified that they had called 911 after observing him walking through the streets and making strange noises.

Klein, who didn’t testify, had originally signalled his intention to argue that he should not be found criminally responsible for the attacks because of a mental disorder.

On Friday, around 60 people, including members of Reimer’s family, sat in court to hear the verdict. Many of them were from Abbotsford Senior Secondary school.

Some people in the gallery wore shirts saying «Abby Strong.» Before the proceedings, Holmes instructed people wearing those shirts to remove them or cover them up to maintain what she called the impartiality of the court process.

Once the verdict was read, Reimer’s family, sitting in the front row of the courtroom sobbed.