Mother of victim given jail time

SASKATOON — A woman whose son is accused of killing his brother is spending the next few weeks in jail. Jessica Jennie Whitecalf appeared Wednesday in Saskatoon provincial court charged with breaching a probation order dating from last year related to a mischief charge. She said she has been “going through a hard time” during the last couple of weeks.

Her son Jaguar Troy Sparvier, 22, was stabbed to death in Saskatoon on March 3. Shayman Darian Sparvier-whitecalf, 19, is charged with second-degree murder in connection with his brother’s death. Sparvier-whitecalf, who was released from custody on Friday, was in provincial court for his mother’s appearance Wednesday.

Whitecalf, 42, was in jail — on remand on a charge of breaching her probation — the weekend Sparvier died. When she appeared in court on March 5, the Crown agreed to a sentence of six days time served so she could get out of jail and deal with her son’s death, said Crown prosecutor Frank Impey.

However, just three days later on March 8, police were called to her house and found Whitecalf extremely intoxicated — another breach of her probation. She appeared in provincial court later that day and the Crown agreed to her release.

The Crown “very clearly” said on that date the only reason Whitecalf was getting out was so she could attend her son’s wake and funeral on the weekend, Impey said.

A few days later, on Monday, police were on a routine patrol in the area of 20th Street West and Avenue Q when they saw a woman waving and shouting. Whitecalf was arrested for being intoxicated in a public place and police found a marijuana joint in her pocket.

Impey described how the Crown had taken a “gentle” position last week when Whitecalf appeared in court, given that her son had just died.

But on Wednesday, the Crown’s position was very different, asking for a sentence of 60 days in jail.

Whitecalf told Judge Daryl Labach she would really like to get out of jail and spend time with her family, some of whom had travelled to Saskatoon from Ontario.

“I’m very remorseful,” she said. “I know I’m screwing up, but it’s just taking me awhile.”

She asked the judge to consider a conditional sentence order that would allow her to serve the sentence in the community.

However, Labach said Whitecalf’s probation breaches have all been related to substance abuse and he wasn’t satisfied she’d be able to live up to a conditional sentence order.

Labach sentenced Whitecalf to two days time served on the marijuana possession charge and 30 days in jail on the probation breaches.