No parole eligibility for 10 years for 2021 murder

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/01/2023 (1011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg man who fatally attacked his teenage friend following an alcohol-fuelled argument has been sentenced to life in prison, with no chance of parole for at least 10 years.

Samuel Hastings, 21, pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree murder in the July 2021 killing of 17-year-old Jaden Oman.

Oman died following a prolonged assault inside an Assiniboine Avenue apartment building.

Court heard Hastings and Oman had been drinking inside Hastings’ 11th-floor apartment when, according to Hastings’ mother, who was present for the start of the attack, Hastings started arguing with Oman about how he treated his girlfriend.

The argument turned physical and spilled out into the apartment hallway, where security video captured Hastings following Oman down to the 10th floor and stomping several times on his head. Hastings returned to his apartment, retrieved a glass bong, and renewed the attack, breaking the bong over Oman’s head as he lay on the floor.

Hastings stabbed Oman in the head with the broken end before disposing of the weapon in a garbage chute and returning to his apartment.

Police, alerted to the assault, found Oman in critical condition in an eighth-floor laundry room. He was taken to hospital, where he later died.

Security video showed Hastings using a mop and broom to clean Oman’s blood from the hallway before police arrived and arrested him.

King’s Bench Justice Candace Grammond agreed to a joint recommendation by the Crown and defence Hastings be allowed to apply for parole after serving 10 years in custody, the minimum period of parole ineligibility allowed by law.

Court heard Hastings, who is Indigenous, had an upbringing marked by trauma, substance abuse and Child and Family Services involvement.

Hastings knew Oman for about four years, and considered him “quite a close friend,” said defence lawyer Matt Munce. “He is incredibly remorseful.”

Family members at the time described Oman as a caring young man who was trying to move ahead with his life after the recent death of a sister and step-brother.

“He was kind and never hurt a fly,” said father Wesley Oman.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca