Six years for Main Street fatal stabbing

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This article was published 28/12/2023 (710 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg woman who fatally stabbed a stranger at a Main Street crosswalk has been sentenced to six years in prison for what a judge described as an “impulsive act of extreme violence against a defenceless person.”

Nancy Whiteway, 35, was originally charged with second-degree murder in the Nov. 27, 2021, stabbing of George Houle, but entered a guilty plea to the reduced charge of manslaughter days before she was to stand trial.

Surveillance video provided to court showed Whiteway and a male companion approaching the pedestrian crosswalk at Main Street and Logan Avenue shortly before noon, when they passed Houle sitting on a bench and appeared to have a brief conversation.

“Nothing in the body language of the parties suggests that anyone was aggressive or fearful during this brief encounter,” Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Justice Herbert Rempel wrote in a Dec. 21 ruling.

As Whiteway and the unidentified male made their way to the crosswalk, Houle stood up and followed them from a distance. The video shows Whiteway turning around quickly, marching toward Houle and swinging her arm at his chest.

Whiteway turned around and continued on her way, turning south on Main Street, as Houle followed slowly in the same direction and put a cellphone to his ear.

“It turns out Mr. Houle was placing a 911 call at that time and it was one of the last things he did before his death,” Rempel said.

Police found Houle bleeding and unconscious on the sidewalk. He died in hospital four days later. An autopsy revealed he suffered a 16-centimetre stab wound to the chest.

Prosecutors said Whiteway posed a continuing danger to the public and urged Rempel to sentence her to eight years in prison, pointing to a long criminal record that included 15 previous convictions for crimes of violence.

Defence lawyers Tara Walker and Kaitlyn Walker recommended Whiteway be sentenced to no more than five years in custody (or two years when time already served was taken into account) and she be allowed to serve her time at a Saskatchewan healing lodge.

Court heard Whiteway had a family history of residential school involvement and a chaotic upbringing marked by neglect, abuse and loss.

Whiteway’s parents struggled with addictions and she was raised by her grandmother. As an adult, she has been the victim of domestic violence, had her children seized by child welfare authorities, and struggled with substance abuse and mental illness.

“The severance of the mother-and-child relationship was a devastating blow to Ms. Whiteway,” Rempel said.

Largely homeless for the past decade, Whiteway turned to the sex trade to survive, and was often the victim of both physical and sexual abuse.

According to a pre-sentence report provided to court, Whiteway said she thought Houle was following her and acted out of fear. Whiteway said she had used methamphetamine the night before the assault and had not slept.

“I was in a state of desperation of survival mode in life and was always a victim,” she told a probation officer. “I often feel unsafe… I have been attacked before. I am always so exhausted on Main Street.”

Whiteway’s personal history made her hyper-vigilant to danger, Rempel said.

“With this reality as a backdrop, it should surprise no one that Ms. Whiteway had developed a keen sense of protecting her personal space and perceiving the apparently innocuous actions of Mr. Houle in following her at a leisurely pace as a threat,” the judge said.

Rempel said he was satisfied Whiteway was genuinely remorseful and has developed a better understanding of her mental health challenges while in custody.

He credited Whiteway for time served, reducing her remaining sentence to three years and requested, as per the defence, Corrections Canada allow her to serve all or a portion of her sentence at the Maple Creek Healing Lodge.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca