Man who helped hide bloodstains after killing gets 16 months

An Edmonton man who helped conceal the scene of a bloody killing with snow was handed a 16-month jail sentence Friday.

David Cameron Cardinal, 37, was at a house party in a rental home at 114th Avenue and 82nd Street in January 2011. He and every other guest were “highly intoxicated” by alcohol and crack cocaine when a fight broke out and a man outside the home was fatally stabbed in the neck.

Robert Fontaine, 56, who lived in the home, asked Cardinal to come outside and help him conceal the blood in the backyard. Cardinal agreed, “without a great deal of forethought,” his lawyer Dan Chivers told court. The two men shovelled snow over the incriminating scene, then went back inside to the party.

The body of Christopher Allan Pirie, 32, who also lived in the home, was discovered buried in a snowbank in the nearest alley two days later after one of the partygoers reported the body to police.

Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Sterling Sanderman told Cardinal he had broken the law in helping conceal a crime, but also failed to show basic decency.

“This person was abandoned in a back alley to die,” Sanderman said. “No one bothered to inquire whether assistance would have saved him.”

Fontaine pleaded guilty to manslaughter in April for killing Pirie with a deep slash to his jugular vein. Pirie’s nose was almost cut off in the attack that Fontaine told court he did not remember, but was indisputably done by him.

When Pirie arrived at the house earlier that day, one of the drunken occupants punched him over a past dispute. The fight was broken up and Pirie was ushered outside the house. Pirie told Fontaine he wanted go inside to collect some of his belongings, which Fontaine refused. A second fight occurred and when it was over, Pirie was bleeding on the ground. He was then left in the alley as the party continued.

Later, Fontaine told the landlord of the home he did not call 911 because he believed Pirie was dead.

Cardinal has already served his 16-month sentence because he was not released on bail after his arrest. However, he will remain in custody to face impaired-driving charges in Saskatchewan, court heard.

Members of Pirie’s family cried in the gallery as Cardinal was convicted.

Cardinal stood and looked at them from the prisoner’s box.

“I just wanted to apologize to the family for what happened,” he said.