Risling faces life in stabbing over puppy deal gone bad
A city man faces an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 10 to 25 years after a jury convicted him on the weekend of second- degree murder in the stabbing death of Matthew Brown following a puppy deal gone bad at the victim’s northeast home more than two years ago.
Crown prosecutors Adam Drew and Grant Schorn and defence lawyer Maggie O’Shaughnessy, who represents Walker Eli Risling, 25, will make their sentencing arguments to Court of Queen’s Bench Justice David Gates on June 30.
The jury had deliberated over three days before reaching a unanimous verdict on Saturday afternoon.
When asked by the judge if they had any recommendations as to parole eligibility, eight of them declined and the four others ranged between 10 and 15 years.
Risling was charged with the stabbing death of Brown, 30, after an argument over whether he would receive a pit bull puppy from the victim on Jan. 5, 2013, at Brown’s Falconridge home. Brown sustained one stab wound to the back.
Risling told police in a videotaped statement after his arrest, played in court during trial, that he stabbed Brown because he reneged on a deal to give him one of his pit bull puppies.
The killer told police he was drunk, high on drugs, lacking sleep and angry because Brown backed out of what he said was a promise through a mutual friend to give him the dog that day.
Risling said Brown got belligerent, told him “you’re not taking one of these dogs” and “I don’t know you.”
“We were having some drinks and we were talking about ... the dog situation and you know it’s like it seemed everything that we talked about with Tim just kind of went right out the window,” Risling told Det. Matt Demarino. “He just started ... being all rude about it. Like, ‘ oh, I don’t give af— about what Tim says. His word doesn’t mean ( anything) to me, blah, blah, blah’ ... he’s starting an argument with me over something that he already, you know, was OK with.”
Risling said the argument escalated and he didn’t even know what he was thinking about when he went upstairs to get a glass of water. He said he took a knife from a drawer and put it in his pocket, then returned.
Risling said he got mad, the spat became physical and he stabbed Brown once in the back.
Risling said he left and drove to British Columbia, where he crashed his vehicle. He later returned to Calgary and turned himself in.