Killer sent to prison for minimum 10 years after changing murder plea to guilty

A man who brutally and fatally beat a vulnerable man in a Furby Street suite, then dragged the victim outside on a cold winter night where he was discovered hours later, has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years.

Last week, four days into his 10-day second-degree murder trial in the Court of King’s Bench, Derin Hanninen, 61, decided to change his plea to guilty in the Jan. 4, 2024, killing of Daniel Jawbone, 62, after hearing the evidence against him.

Crown prosecutors Kellie Stashko and Daniel Chaput originally planned to seek a life sentence with no parole eligibility for 12 to 14 years, if Hanninen was found guilty after trial.

After his late guilty plea, the prosecutors instead struck a bargain with Hanninen’s defence lawyer, Barry Sinder, to jointly ask for life with 10 years of parole ineligibility.

Justice Joan McKelvey accepted the recommended sentence on Thursday.

Jawbone, who occasionally did odd jobs for Hanninen, sometimes hung out with him. The two were drinking together in Hanninen’s suite in 847 Furby St. on the night of Jan. 3, 2024.

McKelvey said an argument likely occurred at about 3 a.m. Jan. 4, which escalated into a physical confrontation between Hanninen, who worked physical jobs, and Jawbone, a slight man with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, who loved ones described as a gentle person with a child-like nature.

“Without good reason, Derin Hanninen beat Daniel Jawbone so severely with his foot and his fists, that he brought about his death,” said Stashko.

Jawbone was extremely intoxicated at the time and Stashko said his “vulnerability… cannot be understated.”

Jawbone was left fatally injured, unconscious, on a tarp on Hanninen’s kitchen floor, but rather than call for help, he asked someone to hold the door for him, while he dragged Jawbone from the rooming house out onto the street, said Stashko.

“The indignity done to the deceased is clear by the fact that (Hanninen) dragged him out into the street and left him on a frozen sidewalk like a piece of discarded trash,” said Stashko.

Hanninen then tried to clean up his suite and the trail of evidence. A passerby discovered Jawbone at about 7:30 a.m. and Hanninen was arrested about an hour-and-a-half-later.

Jawbone, who was a victim of the ’60s Scoop, was a member of the Sayisi Dene First Nation in Manitoba’s North and was abandoned in a hospital in Quebec before he was adopted at age five, loved ones said. He reconnected with his extended family in Manitoba and his Indigenous heritage as an adult.

His great-nephew, Joshua Kennedy, told court that his uncle’s life was a “testament to resilience.” He was widely beloved by his family and community, said Kennedy.

He would spend hours playing chess and listening to classic rock and did everything he could to help his many nieces and nephews and others during hard times, working difficult jobs to help put food on their tables, Kennedy said.

Kennedy said his uncle never fought anyone, even when he’d been assaulted on the streets of Winnipeg, and that he was small in stature and always left somewhere if he was told to do so.

He was taken advantage of by the unscrupulous, Kennedy said, adding his uncle was vulnerable due to his FASD and health issues, including poor mobility.

“After Danny’s death, it’s been a living hell,” he said.

Outside court, Kennedy said Hanninen’s guilty plea was a step towards justice for Jawbone’s death.

Amid the pain of the court proceedings, he said, his family is focused on healing and honouring Jawbone’s memory and legacy.

Hanninen told Winnipeg police officers interviewing him that he “maybe” hit Jawbone too hard and that he did heavy labour work, Stashko said, referencing video of his interrogation.

“When asked what it was that the accused hit Daniel Jawbone with, Hanninen raises both of his fists and just waves them to the officers,” said Stashko. “Hanninen then goes on to also say that, ‘Maybe I gave him a boot,’ and demonstrates to his foot.”

The prosecutor said Hanninen’s comments to police also provided insight into his crime.

“He goes on to state, ‘Danny’s been known to get a little yappy when he’s drinking,’” she said. “He started performing and then (said), ‘I don’t know, I’m a pretty strong guy.’ I asked him to leave a couple of times before he kind of got out of hand and I said ‘hit the road.’”

He went on to tell the officers that there was nothing that set him off, just that he had a bit of a temper. He told the police he had only a couple of drinks and that he wasn’t scared or intimidated of the small-statured Jawbone, who was unarmed.

Stashko said, according to Hanninen’s own words, all Jawbone did “was yap and perform and was slow in leaving the residence,” before the fatal beating.

Jawbone was left with significant injuries to the head, face and neck, as well as a shattered jaw. A doctor who performed his autopsy determined his injuries were consistent with heavy blows from the hands, kicking or stomping.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca