Edmonton warehouse stabber sentenced to life, no parole eligibility for 25 years
EDMONTON — A mentally ill Edmonton man who stabbed two co-workers to death and badly injured four others has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.
Jayme Pasieka attacked the men in February 2014 at a grocery warehouse where they all worked.
A jury earlier this month found him guilty of murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault.
Before the sentence was handed down, court heard emotional impact statements from relatives of the two men killed.
The Crown said it could not ask that Pasieka’s parole eligibility be doubled, because the crime must be balanced with his mental illness.
Pasieka stared into space as the defence asked that he serve his time at a federal psychiatric facility.
Thierno Bah, 41, and Fitzroy Harris, 50, were killed.
Much of the case focused on whether Pasieka, who has schizophrenia, was capable of planning the attack and intended to kill his co-workers.
Pasieka, who testified in his own defence, said he had given up on life, was hearing voices and hoped that if he stabbed people he would get the help he needed. A forensic psychiatrist testified that Pasieka would have understood that inflicting severe injury on someone would have led to death. The psychiatrist also said Pasieka was capable of exercising free will and making choices.