Five years for 2020 one-punch death

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This article was published 27/01/2023 (953 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A fatal attack on a 41-year-old Winnipeg man was met with “shocking” indifference by passersby, even after his body was dragged on to a busy Main Street roadway, a court has heard.

Christopher Grozelle, 28, had pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the July 18, 2020, killing of Valentine Sumner.

On Friday, Grozelle was sentenced to five years in prison.

Court heard Grozelle and several other people, including Sumner, were “hanging out” on the sidewalk outside the Northern Hotel around 2:20 a.m. when Grozelle, unprovoked and without warning, punched Sumner once in the head, knocking him unconscious to the ground.

Security video from outside the hotel showed Grozelle appearing to check on Sumner as he remained motionless on the ground and rooting through his pockets, but doing nothing to help him. A short time later, another man shook Grozelle’s hand in what Crown prosecutor Mark Kantor argued was an apparent gesture of congratulations.

“I agree with Crown counsel that Mr. Grozelle’s behaviour appears to be that of someone who is pleased with what he has done,” said King’s Bench Justice Sadie Bond, noting security video that showed Grozelle appearing to boast and “swagger” following the attack.

Minutes later, Grozelle and another man dragged Sumner’s unconscious or dead body to the roadway, leaving him in the centre lane of traffic where several vehicles drove past without stopping.

When one motorist eventually stopped, Grozelle ran up to the driver-side window and excitedly told the driver: “I f—king did that!” and pointed to Sumner. Grozelle then dragged Sumner’s body back to the sidewalk.

Paramedics arrived a short time later. Sumner was pronounced dead.

In the 20 minutes between the assault and paramedics arriving, “numerous” people came in and out of the hotel, but they paid little attention to Sumner and offered him no assistance, Bond said.

“Shockingly, not only did Mr. Grozelle do nothing to help Mr. Sumner as he lay on the pavement, it appears few other did either,” Bond said.

“The failure of bystanders to help Mr. Sumner does not excuse Mr. Grozelle’s conduct after the assault,” she said. “Conversely, Mr. Grozelle is not responsible for the apparent indifference of others to Mr. Sumner’s condition.”

Family members provided victim-impact statements to court describing Sumner as a good-humoured, hard-working man who loved hunting and fishing and cooking.

Grozelle said he had been consuming alcohol and methamphetamine at the time and claimed he had little to no memory of the attack.

Court heard Grozelle is Métis, possibly lives with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and, according to a medical report, has mental challenges that impact his decision making.

The Crown recommended Grozelle be sentenced to nine years in prison, while the defence recommended a five-year sentence, which Bond endorsed.

Bond said Grozelle’s “compromised cognitive abilities” reduced his moral culpability for the attack, noting he would not have expected a single punch to result in Sumner’s death.

Grozelle has no prior convictions for violence, has shown genuine remorse for his actions, and participated in rehabilitative programming while in custody, the judge said.

“It’s all on you now,” Bond told Grozelle. “I am giving you an opportunity here. Don’t blow it.”

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca