Guilty plea on first day of 2020 murder trial

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This article was published 21/03/2022 (1481 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 2020 slaying of his girlfriend in a Redwood Avenue apartment.

Marie Morin, 46, died in hospital after she was stabbed the morning of May 15. The attack, which began as a domestic dispute, left her with a 7.1-centimetre-deep wound in the left side of her neck.

Brandon Carl Starnyski, 45 at the time of his arrest, was charged that same day for the killing and with failing to comply with a probation order. He had been prohibited from contacting the victim of domestic violence by court order.

He’s been in custody ever since.

On what was initially to be the first day of a jury trial Monday, defence lawyer Tom Rees described the lead-up to Morin’s death, as he read an agreed statement of facts to Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench Justice David Kroft.

Starnyski lived at the apartment at 310 Redwood Ave. as part of a housing-first program run by Mount Carmel Clinic — assertive community treatment — which serves people with issues of homelessness, addiction and mental health, Rees said. At the time, Starnyski was taking part in the program.

Starnyski and Morin had gone to another suite in the apartment block, where they drank alcohol with others during the early morning hours.

At some point, the couple returned to Starnyski’s suite, where a physical fight ensued.

Starnyski stabbed Morin twice in the neck — the second resulted in a fatal wound. She also suffered a fracture of her right wrist and a number of lacerations, Rees told court.

Morin was found to have bruising and apparent self-defence wounds on her hands and arms.

At around 11:15 a.m., outreach workers with the treatment program tasked with checking Starnyski’s well-being knocked on the door of his apartment. They heard a woman’s voice cry for help.

One outreach worker went to retrieve a key; another stayed outside the suite and called 911.

Two members of the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service arrived, where they found the victim bleeding and incapacitated on the apartment floor. She was still breathing, the fire paramedics observed, while Starnyski lay disoriented nearby.

They left the suite and called for police, as they deemed the situation unsafe. Officers arrived at about 11:50 a.m., and arrested Starnyski for aggravated assault; Morin was treated at the scene and taken to Health Sciences Centre.

A doctor pronounced her dead at 12:30 p.m.

Police upgraded Starnyski’s charge to second-degree murder.

At the scene, the Winnipeg Police Service identification unit found blood throughout the apartment, three empty two-litre bottles of 7.1 per cent alcohol cider and a used crack cocaine or methamphetamine pipe, Rees said.

Speaking in a low voice, dressed in a grey T-shirt, Starnyski displayed no visible emotion as he told court he was pleading guilty to second-degree murder.

Court briefly recessed so Rees and his co-counsel could speak with their client, after Starnyski showed hesitation in agreeing he knew stabbing Morin could cause her death. A short time later, Starnyski agreed he knew at the time the wound could kill her.

Crown attorney Debbie Buors and Rees have agreed to a joint sentencing recommendation on Starnyski’s plea bargain, but did not reveal what sentence they are seeking in court Monday.

Buors requested the matter be put over for a week, so Morin’s family can prepare and provide a victim impact statement.

Kroft will preside over the sentencing hearing March 28. The selected jury has since been excused.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @erik_pindera