Accused in stabbing of 96-year-old pleads guilty to second-degree murder

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/01/2018 (2806 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A sharp-eyed hotel staffer in a sleepy Manitoba town ultimately led RCMP to unravel the mystery of who brutally stabbed a devout, well-liked 96-year-old man to death in his home.

Jason Conway pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree murder in the May 24, 2014 slaying of Niels “Arne” Nielsen in the town of MacGregor.

Conway, 25, was initially charged with first-degree murder in Neilsen’s death, but prosecutors agreed to accept his plea to the lesser charge.

Conway will receive a mandatory life sentence at a Court of Queen’s Bench hearing in Portage la Prairie later this year, court heard.

The Crown could seek to hike his parole ineligibility beyond the statutory minimum of 10 years, but gave no indication Friday that would happen.

Conway, however, wasn’t offered any parole-related deal in exchange for his admission of guilt, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice John Menzies was told.

Conway came to the attention of police after a staff member at the local hotel bar noticed him and another man buying food and drinks — including for other people, Crown attorney Larry Hodgson said.

The staffer told RCMP he found this “strange” because the two were regular customers and usually didn’t have any money, Hodgson said.

“Turned out the cash came from Mr. Neilsen’s residence,” said Hodgson.

While being interviewed as a potential witness by investigators soon after, Conway gave a full confession after telling them they might find his DNA and fingerprints at the crime scene.

He told police he and another man thought Neilsen had cash in his house, so they armed themselves with filleting knives and went over there, Hodgson said.

Neilsen, who lived alone, gave the men some money but they stabbed him anyway, court heard. “Mr. Neilsen did often have a lot of cash in his residence and on his person,” said Hodgson.

“They stabbed him, he fell on the ground, they left the residence and then they went to the hotel,” Hodgson said.

A friend who stopped by Neilsen’s tiny bungalow the next day to take him to lunch found the door unlocked and the elderly man dead inside.

Conway drew a “rough sketch” of the crime scene for police. It was nearly identical with the one drawn up by forensic evidence officers, court heard.

Neilsen’s killing rocked the small town, located about 40 kilometres west of Portage.

A devout Jehovah’s Witness who came to Canada in his 30s, Nielsen was known to spend a lot of time in his Talbot Street East yard, and neighbours said he loved tending to his garden.

He came to live in MacGregor in 2006 after spending a few years in British Columbia. He had also lived in Carberry and the small community of Sidney.

Conway was also from MacGregor, but townsfolk told the Free Press at the time of his arrest they don’t believe he’d lived there long.

A date for Conway’s sentencing will be set Feb. 16.

RCMP also charged Martin Sutherland, 58, with first-degree murder, four months after Neilsen’s death.

His trial is slated to get underway in late October, according to court records. He is presumed innocent.

City.desk@freepress.mb.ca

@heyjturner