Man who killed neighbour must serve at least 13 years in jail
A Côte-des-Neiges resident who stabbed his neighbour to death and then headed off to have a few beers before being arrested must serve at least 13 years behind bars. He automatically received a life sentence last month when he was convicted by a jury of second-degree murder.
Superior Court Justice François Buffoni made the decision on Amalan Thandapanithesigar’s parole eligibility at the Montreal courthouse on Wednesday. The minimum amount of time a person in Canada is required to serve on a second-degree murder conviction is 10 years. Prosecutor Dennis Galiatsatos had asked that the eligibility for Thandapanithesigar’s eligibility be set at 17 years.
Thandapanithesigar argued with the victim, Jeyarasan Manikarasa in the days before the stabbing on June 23, 2014. The arguments came about after Thandapanithesigar’s wife complained Manikarasa, 40, had flirted with her. Both men were originally from northern Sri Lanka and had come to Canada, at different times, as refugees. “Antiquated concepts of pride and honour” played a role in the motive for the murder, Buffoni noted, while reading from his decision. The judge also said it was clear Thandapanithesigar “placed honour above a human life.”
“He also went to drink beer as if nothing had happened,” Buffoni said. “That is disturbing.”
It was a reference to how security cameras recorded Thandapanithesigar purchasing beer at a nearby gas station, then going to a pub on Décarie Blvd. to purchase more beer shortly after leaving the victim for dead outside their apartment buildings on Mountain Sights Ave.
Galiatsatos was not present when Buffoni delivered his sentence. The longtime prosecutor at the Montreal courthouse moved on to work in Ontario after having made sentence arguments on May 29.