Men found guilty in murder of Yukon bar owner

Two men have been found guilty of the second-degree murder of a Yukon hotel owner two-and-a-half years ago.

Dean Johns, 32, and Mark Lange, 30, were charged with murder in connection with the beating death of Carcross hotelier Bob Olsen on Christmas Eve 2004.

The panel of eight women and four men handed their decision to Yukon Supreme Court Justice Leigh Gower Friday afternoon, after spending Thursday night and most of the next day deliberating on the case.

The trial, which began almost four weeks ago, heard that the two men went to the Caribou Hotel in Carcross on Christmas Eve 2004, looking for free drinks from Olson, the long-time owner of the run-down establishment. The bar was closed at the time.

The court heard the pair were the only ones at the hotel when Olson was beaten, robbed, and thrown into the back of his own pickup truck. That truck was driven to Whitehorse, where Olson's body was dumped into a ditch.

Both men surrendered to police within three days of each other, and gave videotaped evidence blaming the other for the murder.

Johns testified in his own defence at the trial, again blaming Lange for the murder. Lange did not testify.

In his closing address to the jury Crown prosecutor John Phelps said there's no doubt Johns and Lange together committed murder. He said the pair robbed Olson strictly for booze and drugs, and killed him in the process. He described their explanations to the police and in court as "self-serving lies."

The men face 25 years in prison, with no possibility of parole for at least 10 years. No date has been set for sentencing.