No parole for 13 years for ‘particularly brutal’ strangling

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This article was published 09/09/2022 (1367 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg man who pushed police to shoot him after strangling a woman to death in her Riverton Avenue home has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 13 years.

Cody Don Saunders, 27, was convicted of second-degree murder by a jury for the October 2019 killing of 48-year-old Karen Letniak.

Letniak was “a much-loved child, sibling and friend,” said Court of King’s Bench Justice David Kroft at a sentencing hearing Friday. “Mr. Saunders has inflicted permanent damage on the lives of those close to Ms. Letniak.”

Prosecutors argued Saunders, who was intoxicated by cocaine and alcohol, went to Letniak’s home looking for sex in exchange for money, then flew into a rage when he couldn’t perform.

Kroft, noting Saunders’ claim he had little memory of events before his attack on Letinak, said he had insufficient evidence to support a finding that the killing was motivated by his sexual “dysfunction.”

Saunders admitted he had strangled Letniak, but his defence argued he had been in the grip of a cocaine-induced psychosis that removed his intent to kill.

“Clearly, the jury rejected that defence,” Kroft said.

Saunders testified he had been drinking and snorting cocaine at a Winnipeg strip club when he called Letniak, a sex worker, and arranged to meet at her house. Saunders told jurors he was unable to maintain an erection.

Saunders said he and Letniak consumed cocaine on and off during the night. After experiencing both auditory and visual hallucinations, he became angry and found himself strangling Letniak for a matter of seconds.

“I let go of her when she stopped moving,” he testified.

An autopsy concluded Letniak had been strangled for at least four minutes, both by hand and with a ligature, a killing Kroft described Friday as “particularly brutal.”

After strangling Letniak, Saunders slashed his arm and neck with a knife and stabbed himself in the stomach.Ninety minutes later, he placed two calls to 911, claiming he had been involved in a “domestic situation” with his girlfriend. He was later shot in the shoulder after he lunged at police with a knife, in what prosecutors described as an attempt to commit “suicide by cop.”

The investigation by the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba concluded the shooting was justified.

Victim impact statements provided to court at a sentencing hearing last May described Letniak as a compassionate woman who was “just starting to find her way in life,” and who had plans to move to Mexico to work as a yoga and fitness instructor.

“It saddens me knowing you were the last one to see her alive,” a sister told Saunders. “I hope you understand what you have taken away from myself, her family and friends.”

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca