'Did he beg for his life?' mother asks her son's killer at sentencing hearing
原始发布日期： 2015-12-02 发布者：中和字变大 字变小
Prosecution asks judge to sentence Rasberry to 15 years in prison Nicholas Rasberry walks into the Calgary Courts Centre just before Justice Robert Hall found him guilty of manslaughter (Meghan Grant/CBC) From the other side of the country, a family tormented by their son's final moments tried to put into words for a Calgary judge the impact Craig Kelloway's death has had on them."The day I laid my son to rest is the day I wished to be buried with him," Harvey Kelloway wrote from his home in Cape Breton. "He was my son and best friend." The family, from Glace Bay, N.S., was given the opportunity to write victim impact statements to be read at Nicholas Rasberry's sentencing hearing. Kelloway, 31, was killed by Rasberry, 32, in May 2013 after being stabbed and slashed 37 times. Originally charged with second-degree murder, Rasberry was found guilty of manslaughter in October after the judge found he didn't have the intent to commit murder. Today, at his sentencing hearing, victim impact statements were read aloud on behalf of Kelloway's far-away family. His mother described days and nights plagued with panic attacks and nightmares. "Did he defend himself? Did he beg for his life?" Monica Kelloway asked in her statement. "My heart is broken into a million pieces." 
This photo of Craig Kelloway (left) and Nicholas Rasberry, entered into evidence at the trial, was taken at 10:36 p.m. on Kelloway's girlfriend's phone. The 911 call Rasberry made, saying he had stabbed Kelloway multiple times, was placed at around 11:30 p.m. (Courtroom Exhibit) 911 callRasberry and Kelloway met only hours before paramedics would find Kelloway near death.Rasberry and his wife met Kelloway and his girlfriend in their backyard and began drinking and barbecuing together on May 4, 2013. The festivities later took them from Kelloway's home to the Rasberry's. But shortly after the women went to bed, something happened that caused Rasberry to stab Kelloway, breaking three knives in the process. Rasberry has never denied killing Kelloway, but has maintained that the victim threatened to sexually assault him. He also said he felt he needed to protect his wife who was sleeping upstairs. 
Nicholas Rasberry admitted to a police detective that he used three knives, breaking two and bending a third. (Court handout ) "He tried to f--k me," said Rasberry to the 911 operator in a phone call that was made the night he killed Kelloway. "I stabbed him everywhere."Son's life 'destroyed'The mother of Kelloway's son also spoke about his loss from the boy's perspective."You say you were protecting your family, but your actions destroyed Blake's," said Kim Warcop. The boy, now three, who was not allowed inside the courtroom, sat patiently in the hallway. Prosecutors Todd Buziak and Matthew Block are seeking a 15-year prison sentence for Rasberry. They have also asked the Alberta Court of Appeal to overturn the the manslaughter decision, instead seeking a second-degree murder conviction. Rasberry's defence lawyers — the father-son team of Hersh and Gavin Wolch — have indicated their proposed sentence will be much less than that. Rasberry spent about a year in custody before he was released on bail pending trial. His lawyers will make their submissions this afternoon. |