Man shot estranged wife five times

Life in prison for father who killed woman in front of their daughter

MELFORT When Stacey Lewis arrived to pick up her nine-year-old daughter from her ex-husband’s home in Hudson Bay, Steven Lee Lewis grabbed a shotgun and fired it through the front door while his daughter watched.

He then fired four more shots into his estranged wife’s body, walked to the RCMP detachment and turned himself in. Stacey’s mother and stepfather discovered their daughter lying in the doorway with wounds to her head and torso.

No words were exchanged: she simply rang the doorbell and was shot, Crown prosecutor Wade Rogers said, calling it an offence of “incredible cruelty.”

The facts surrounding the murder were presented on Wednesday in Melfort Court of Queen’s Bench after Lewis, 32, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was originally charged with first-degree murder in the Feb. 3 shooting, but Rogers said a plea deal was made to spare their daughter from having to testify.

He said Lewis deserves a long period of parole ineligibility considering the circumstances and the fact he shot Stacey in front of her child. Justice Lyle Zuk accepted a joint submission from the Crown and defence, sentencing Lewis to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 22 years. The maximum parole ineligibility period for second-degree murder is 25 years.

In his victim impact statement, Stacey’s boyfriend described her as a kind, gentle person whose life ended because of a “selfish, pointless, cowardly act.” Other family members said all she wanted was a good life for her loved ones. Many said her murder left them wondering “Why?”

“I should never have had to bury my baby sister,” Jason Knutson said of his 27-year-old sibling.

Court heard Lewis had been representing himself in a family court matter over custody of their daughter and four-year-old son, who was waiting in a vehicle when his mother was killed.

The little boy now draws pictures of a monster with a gun, Stacey’s sister-in-law told court.

In a written statement, Lewis said he’s not a violent person but became “overwhelmed” at the thought of losing his family.

“I will forever regret what I have done,” he wrote.

Lewis has major depressive disorder and attempted suicide when his relationship with Stacey ended two years ago, defence lawyer Brian Pfefferle said.

Despite his mental health issues, the people around him were “completely shocked” by what happened, Pfefferle added.

Providing reasons for his sentence, Zuk said the crime left the community of Hudson Bay in fear and two children without a mother and father.

A family member said Lewis’s daughter blames herself for what happened because she was the reason her mother came to the house that day.

Outside court, Knutson noted “There’s always other options” for dealing with child custody cases.

“This was the worst option available.”