‘Flophouse’ killer shown anger, forgiveness

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This article was published 30/11/2021 (1763 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A grieving mother was both enraged and forgiving as she faced her son’s killer in a Winnipeg courtroom Tuesday.

“I sure hope you get what you deserve. You took my baby away from me and my family,” Tina McKay told Christopher Murdock, her voice breaking with pain.

“I forgive you for what you did to my baby,” McKay said. “Only God will judge you.”

In a plea bargain prosecutor Ari Millo described as “hard to swallow” for both the Crown and defence, Murdock agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder for the October 2019 shotgun killing of 19-year-old Darlus McKay. In return, Murdock can apply for parole after serving the minimum 10 years of his life sentence in custody.

McKay was killed outside his Pritchard Avenue home, a building Millo described as a “flophouse” where crystal meth was used and sold regularly. Had the case gone to trial, prosecutors would have had to rely on the testimony of witnesses who had been using drugs at the time of the killing, and the testimony of a co-accused who could arguably have a reason to lie, Millo said.

“While Christopher Murdock has reduced his parole ineligibility by some years… the Crown has secured a life sentence,” Millo told Queen’s Bench Justice Sheldon Lanchberry. “Whether he will ever be released will be up to parole authorities.”

Court was told the motive for McKay’s murder could be traced to a street beef just a day and a half earlier. Murdock and a friend were having a smoke outside the friend’s Selkirk Avenue home late Oct. 5 when McKay, familiar to both men, walked up and asked for a cigarette. After Murdock’s friend refused to give McKay a cigarette, a heated argument followed and McKay stabbed the man.

Murdock tried to intervene and discharged a can of bear spray at McKay.

After police questioned Murdock and his friend, Murdock posted a message on the man’s Facebook page saying: “Don’t worry. I’m gonna handle that for you.”

“Revenge was swift and it was lethal,” Millo told court.

On the morning of Oct. 9, Murdock and co-accused Derek Donald Franklin rode their bikes to McKay’s suite, where they were greeted by his girlfriend.

“Franklin was a friend and a frequent guest at the house,” Millo said. Franklin introduced Murdock to McKay’s girlfriend and the two waited for him to emerge from his bedroom.

When McKay appeared a few minutes later, the three men argued before taking the dispute outside, where Murdock pulled out a shotgun from his clothing.

“Unarmed and overcome, McKay tried to flee down the lane with Murdock in hot pursuit,” Millo said.

Murdock fired one shot into McKay’s back. McKay stumbled a short distance before collapsing in front of his house.

Defence lawyer Martin Glazer argued Murdock was high and went to the house to buy drugs.

“He didn’t wake up that morning thinking this would happen,” Glazer said. “Things got out of hand when he went to the residence to purchase meth.”

Life is too precious to be lost to violence, McKay’s grandmother Vivian Brass told court in a victim impact statement.

“We aren’t supposed to shorten our lives,” she said. “We are supposed to work things out. But I guess the evil is stronger out there.”

Franklin is set to stand trial in January.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca