Man pleads guilty to second-degree murder

A bag of stolen methamphetamine and a group of street gangsters intent on getting it back set in motion a relentless machete attack that claimed the life of Carl George Wescoupe inside a Main Street dive hotel.

Robert Shawn Murdock, 33, one of three men arrested in the Jan. 29, 2023 attack, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years, the minimum period of parole ineligibility allowed by law.

Murdock was originally charged with first-degree murder for the killing. Murdock agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charge in a plea bargain that considered frailties in the Crown’s case.

Had the case gone to trial, identifying Murdock as one of Wescoupe’s killers would have relied on testimony from Wescoupe’s brother, who was present for the attack but has “cognitive limitations,” and surveillance video, said prosecutor Amy Wood.

Crown and defence lawyers jointly recommended Murdock be sentenced to the minimum period of parole ineligibility. The recommendation “was not reached lightly” and was the result of a “significant amount of negotiations,” Wood told King’s Bench Justice Rick Saull.

Court heard Murdock and four other men were at the Sutherland Hotel when they learned Wescoupe, 40, had stolen a bag of methamphetamine from another man at the nearby Manwin Hotel.

The group, armed with a machete and rifle, took two cabs to the Manwin Hotel, where three of the men made their way to Wescoupe’s second-floor room.

“The trio of males immediately confronted (Wescoupe) and demanded the return of their drugs” as one of the men struck Wescoupe with the machete, Wood told court, reading from an agreed statement of facts.

Wescoupe handed over the bag of drugs as his attacker continued to chop and slice him with the machete. Wescoupe’s then-27-year-old brother, the only other witness to the attack, was shot two times in the leg as he fled the hotel room, ultimately making his way to Health Sciences Centre where he told medical staff what had happened.

Police found Wescoupe dead in his hotel room, suffering 10 “chopping style” wounds to his head, face and extremities.

Murdock had been released from jail just weeks before the killing, having served a sentence for weapon and drug offences.

Murdock was charged with a second count of first-degree murder in the Feb. 1, 2023 killing of 40-year-old Lee James Boulette at a Selkirk Avenue apartment building, but the charge was later stayed.

“Although the Crown would likely have been able to establish his presence at the apartment complex… proving anything beyond presence would have been an uphill battle,” Wood said.

According to a pre-sentence report prepared for court, Murdock has shown no remorse for the killing and “has made clear he has no intention to end his gang membership,” Wood said.

Murdock is “entrenched… in a criminal lifestyle he clearly plans to continue,” Wood said.

“Only time will tell of his true intentions once he enters (the prison system),” she said.

Defence lawyer Brett Gladstone said Murdock intended only to beat Wescoupe.

“Things got substantially worse than that,” he said. “Mr. Murdock didn’t wake up that day with a plan to kill a guy.”

Co-accused Jordan Elvin McFadyen, 29, previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received the same sentence as Murdock. Co-accused Kurtis Joseph Dilallo, 41, is scheduled to stand trial in January.

dean.pritchard@frepress.mb.ca