No parole for 10 years for man who killed girlfriend

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This article was published 28/03/2022 (1469 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg man who stabbed his girlfriend to death while bound by a court order to have no contact with her has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years.

Brandon Carl Starnyski, 47, was set to stand trial last week but instead agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder in the May 2020 killing of 46-year-old Marie Monin.

Ten years is the minimum period of parole ineligibility available for offenders convicted of second-degree murder.

Court was told Starnyski’s guilty plea was a result of a plea bargain that recognized he could have argued at trial he was intoxicated when he stabbed Monin and did not intend to kill her. It would have opened the door to a conviction to the lesser offence of manslaughter.

Offered an opportunity to address court, Starnyski had but a few words. “I’m very remorseful,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

Starnyski had a “significant record for violence,” including assault convictions against Morin, and at the time of Morin’s killing was bound by a protection order to have no contact with her, Crown attorney Debbie Buors told court.

The killing occurred in an apartment on Redwood Avenue where Starnyski lived as part of a program run by Mount Carmel Clinic — assertive community treatment or ACT — which serves people with issues of homelessness, addiction and mental health, the court heard.

Court was told Starnyski, a participant in the program, and Morin had gone to another suite in the apartment block, where they drank alcohol with others.

At some point, the couple returned to Starnyski’s suite, where a physical fight ensued.

Starnyski stabbed Morin twice in the neck — the second resulted in a fatal wound. She also received a fractured wrist and a number of cuts.

Around 11:15 a.m., outreach workers checking on Starnyski’s well-being knocked on the door of his apartment and heard Morin crying for help.

Morin was taken to hospital where she was later pronounced dead.

Police found blood throughout the apartment, three empty two-litre bottles of 7.1 per cent alcohol cider and a used crack cocaine or methamphetamine pipe.

Buors said it’s unclear what sparked the attack or how long it lasted.

“No one except Ms. Morin and Mr. Starnyski understand what went on in that suite,” she said.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca