Lethbridge man sentenced to 25 years for murdering his wife

Nearly a year after David Dragland stabbed his wife Shelley to death, he was sentenced to the minimum of 25 years in jail and will not be eligible for parole until he’s served at least 13 and a half years.

A Lethbridge courtroom heard Wednesday that the couple was married for approximately 40 years and raised three children.

According to an agreed statement of facts, in the three years leading up to her death, the couple had argued over Shelley’s use of illegal narcotics, and she was in and out of David’s life.

David described their relationship as toxic.

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On Dec. 27, 2022, breaking a no-contact order, David invited Shelley, along with their daughter and her two children, to his house.

David had been drinking vodka and later became upset with Shelley, claiming she was delaying driving her daughter and grandkids home, court heard.

The adults were sitting around a kitchen table while the children played in the hallway, court heard. That’s when David stood up and grabbed a knife from the pantry. As he walked back to the table, Shelley began to stand up but was stabbed several times in the back, chest and upper abdomen.

Their daughter heard David say: “This is for everything you’ve done to me for three years.”

David called 911 and said: “I just stabbed my wife.”

The daughter also called 911, saying she believed her mother was dead.

At one point, one of the grandchildren got on the phone and told the 911 operator: “Grandpa did something bad and grandma died.”

Attempts to revive Shelley were unsuccessful and she was declared dead at the scene, court heard.

In the agreed statement of facts, David admitted that when he stabbed Shelley, he “intended” to kill her, but it was not “planned.”

When asked by the justice Wednesday if he wanted to say anything, David looked at the family members in court and said: “No, I’m just sorry to everybody.”