‘I’m not an evil person’: youth who bludgeoned relative with rum bottle

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This article was published 21/03/2025 (231 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Prosecutors are seeking a maximum youth sentence of three years custody and supervision for a man who killed a friend’s uncle as he visited the city for dialysis treatment.

The now 20-year-old accused was convicted of manslaughter after a trial last year.

The 33-year-old victim cannot be named under a court-ordered publication ban, as they are distantly related and doing so might identify the accused.

Court heard the victim and his 18-year-old nephew were staying at the Cavalier Inn on Regent Avenue in July 2022 when the nephew called the accused, a friend, to join them.

“Prior to that night, (the accused) had never met (the victim), though there is a familial connection,” Crown attorney Matt Armstrong told court.

The three males drank together on a hotel patio, with no indication of trouble or animosity, until approximately 2:30 a.m. when the victim returned to his room, followed a short time later by his nephew, who was in “an advanced state of intoxication” and the accused, Armstrong said.

Sometime between the accused’s arrival in the room and 5 a.m., he killed the victim, bludgeoning him in the head with a rum bottle, Armstong said.

“We will never have a satisfactory reason why (the victim) died in that room,” Armstrong said, making it difficult to assess what kind of risk the accused may continue to pose to the community.

“A high degree of violence was inflicted on (the victim),” who was significantly smaller than the accused, Armstrong said.

Just minutes after leaving the hotel, the accused robbed a person waiting at a nearby bus stop. He was arrested a short time later.

Armstrong urged King’s Bench Justice Brian Bowman to sentence the man to one year custody and two years conditional supervision in the community. Armstrong recommended that the man receive no credit for the nearly 32 months he has already served in custody, arguing he continues to be a high risk to reoffend.

Defence lawyer Greg Sacks argued his client should serve the remainder of his sentence under conditional supervision in the community, where he could benefit from family supports.

The accused clutched an eagle’s feather in shaking hands as he offered a lengthy apology to court.

“I’m just so sorry for everything I did,” he said. “I’m not an evil person.”

Bowman will sentence the man at a later date.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca