City woman sentenced in murder case

A Calgary woman convicted of second-degree murder was sentenced on Wednesday to life in prison, with no chance of parole for 10 years.

Crystal Crowchild was found guilty Monday in the stabbing death of Aref Nassereddine, whom she killed after they had sex for money.

Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Robert Hall rejected Crowchild’s claim she was acting in self-defence when she repeatedly stabbed Nassereddine at the back door of his southwest Calgary home.

Hall said Wednesday that Crowchild’s conviction carries an automatic life sentence, but that her parole ineligibility could range from a minimum of 10 years to a maximum of 25.

Defence lawyer Jim Lutz and Crown prosecutor Trevor Fik both argued she should be ineligible for parole until having served 10 years in prison.

Fik argued against the 25-year maximum, saying Crowchild has shown remorse for her offence during a previous interview with a detective.

But he noted Crowchild’s criminal record, which included a past charge of aggravated assault, and a “record of violence” starting in 1999 until she was incarcerated in 2011. He added the murder taking place in the home of Nassereddine, a place where one should be able to expect a “level of comfort and safety,” was an additional aggravating factor.

Fik also read a victim-impact statement on behalf of Nassereddine’s widow, Rima, who said in trial she found the body of her 64-year-old husband — naked from the waist down — on the kitchen floor as she returned to their southwest Calgary townhouse from work on March 17, 2010, along with her then-six-yearold daughter.