Hamilton judge sentences 38-year-old man to 15 years for fatal stabbing

Fifteen years for stabbing attack that killed man

Darryl House is mentally ill and extremely dangerous.

Yet on Jan. 24, 2016, when he stabbed Richard Crowder clear through the neck killing him almost instantly, House knew exactly what he was doing.

He was getting Richard before Richard got him. Now, House is getting an extraordinary sentence that will put him in prison longer than most who are convicted of aggravated manslaughter.

On Thursday, Justice Tony Leitch sentenced House to 15 years in prison, saying it was appropriate to go beyond the usual sentencing range of eight to 12 years because of the killer’s long, violent history — and little hope for a different future.

With credit for time served, House, 38, will be locked up for another 11 years and nine months.

Richard was a loving father who had his demons, court has heard.

“He was addicted to drugs,” said Leitch, “but that did not define his character.”

He lived in a well-known drug house and “by all accounts … took on the role of protector” for all who lived there with him, Leitch said, eliciting sobs from Richard’s family and friends in the courtroom.

House had a long-standing beef with Richard. House believed Richard’s girlfriend had cooperated with police on a prior charge involving House. “Ironically, (the girlfriend) served a 15-month sentence for that crime and Mr. House was acquitted at trial while representing himself on that charge.”

So why did House kill Richard? House offered “a window into the true motivation for his crime” earlier in the proceedings, Leitch noted.

“I heard that, through the streets, I was going to be killed,” House said. “If someone says they’re going to kill you and they’re from the streets, that’s a very, very serious thing to say. If you got me first, I would have been the one dead, or stabbed up.”

So House made a pre-emptive strike. “There is no evidence of a struggle,” Leitch said. House used “stealth” to stab “a defenceless, unsuspecting (victim) in the neck.” Richard had just injected himself with drugs and was “on the nod,” under the “effect of powerful opiates which rendered him vulnerable.”

The judge also noted there was never any evidence Richard intended to kill House. Leitch presided over this case as it twisted and turned through the nexus of the criminal justice and mental health systems.

House, who doctors believe is schizophrenic with anti-social personality disorder, was likely high on street drugs on the day of the killing, court heard. His drug use is believed by psychiatrists to have caused permanent brain damage.

Originally charged with second-degree murder, House stopped his preliminary hearing to say he wanted to plead guilty, because he had “a heavy heart.” His charge was reduced to manslaughter, to reflect the effect his mental illness had on his crime. His plea was entered May 8, 2017.

Sometimes, over the months since then, House was well enough to represent himself. Other times, he wasn’t. Sometimes, he wanted to be sentenced to get it over with. Other times, he wanted the court to declare him not criminally responsible for his crime.

In the end, the court — with help from forensic psychiatrists — found House criminally responsible for the homicide.

Leitch also took into account — as best he could — House’s background as an Indigenous person. He tried several times to have a Gladue Report done to better understand the offender’s life history. But House refused to co-operate.

In the end House’s mother, Janice, took the stand. Leitch said she clearly loves and supports her son and he has a caring stepfather.

The judge also considered House’s 44 previous adult convictions, including five assaults, two aggravated assaults and two assault police convictions. Four convictions involved weapons.

“He is a dangerous person and is … not likely to be rehabilitated,” said Leitch. “At this stage, only long-term incarceration will protect the public.”

The Crown asked for 15 years. House asked for eight.

Told to stand as his 15-year sentence was handed down, House — as he usually does — bounced from one shackled foot to another. He smiled briefly, but said nothing.