Murder victim’s mother gets discharge for assault

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This article was published 15/03/2014 (4434 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Manitoba judge granted an absolute discharge Friday to a grieving mother who got angry and lashed out violently toward a relative who didn’t tell her about a public memorial for her daughter, the victim of a notorious city homicide.

“I’m not going to give you a criminal record for this,” provincial court Judge Ray Wyant told Lita Blacksmith, 37. “I’m going to try and show you… we all do care about you,” Wyant told her.

Blacksmith’s 18-year-old daughter, Lorna Blacksmith, was killed by Shawn Lamb inside Lamb’s West End apartment on Jan. 11, 2012.

She was declared missing and her remains weren’t found until June 2012, when Lamb led police to them at the rear of a Simcoe Street home.

A group of people — including the victim, Lita Blacksmith’s niece — were on a bus heading home to Cross Lake in northern Manitoba after attending a memorial service for Lorna in Winnipeg in November 2012, Wyant was told.

By happenstance, Blacksmith and her relative saw each other at a gas station and Blacksmith was told about the public tribute, Crown attorney Mark Kantor said.

An argument erupted. Blacksmith punched her niece in the face and kicked her while she was down, Wyant heard.

“She explained that she became upset with (the victim) because she had not been told about the memorial service,” said Kantor.

Kantor took no position on what sentence Blacksmith should get, saying he was “somewhat sympathetic” toward her because of the tragic circumstances. “It’s still an innocent person getting attacked,” Kantor said.

“She’s got a lot of sympathy going for her, without any question,” Wyant responded.

Blacksmith was arrested by RCMP, charged with simple assault and quickly released. Her inability to get to court in Grand Rapids led to her missing court dates. She was picked up by Winnipeg police Thursday and spent the night in custody before pleading guilty on Friday.

“I’m sorry for what I did. It was way out of my league,” Blacksmith said.

Defence lawyer Dean Nygaard argued for an absolute discharge, which allows her to escape a criminal conviction.

Given the sad backdrop, the public wouldn’t be upset to see Blacksmith get one, Nygaard said.

Wyant agreed to the discharge and offered condolences for Lorna’s death.

Blacksmith agreed with him violence shouldn’t be used to solve disputes, and also that her niece’s heart was probably in the right place.

“Maybe we can’t imagine how hard this is on you,” Wyant said. “I wanted you to know that there are people out there who do think about these tragedies and do feel for the people who are affected by them.”

Wyant urged her to make peace with her niece.

Lamb was sentenced to 20 years in November for killing Lorna Blacksmith and also Carolyn Sinclair a few weeks before her.

james.turner@freepress.mb.ca