CALGARY – A Calgary man found guilty of stabbing his neighbour 37 times has been granted bail pending his appeal.
Nicholas Rasberry, 32, was convicted of manslaughter in the death of teacher Craig Kelloway, 31, inside Rasberry’s Auburn Bay home in May 2013.
READ MORE: ‘I pray every night for justice for Craig’ – Calgary murder victim’s mother
He was sentenced to seven years minus time served, but filed an appeal of his conviction and sentence in mid-December.
On Thursday, the Court of Appeal granted bail to Rasberry pending the outcome of his appeal.
For Kelloway’s mother, Monica Kelloway, the news was a devastating blow.
“We are disappointed. I don’t understand the justice system, it doesn’t make sense,” Kelloway told Global News from her home in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia.
Rasberry’s bail announcement comes on the same day the court denied bail to high profile fraudster Milowe Brost. Brost is appealing his conviction and sentence in one of the largest ponzi schemes in Canadian history
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“If anything, the Ponzi guy should have gotten bail and Rasberry should have been kept in jail,” Kelloway said. “I don’t understand this.”
Kelloway’s mother is also outraged the “rape allegations” against her son continue to surface.
“It bothers us that Nicholas Rasberry murdered our son but he’s trying to destroy his reputation,” she said. “He stabbed my son 37 times, broke two knives and a big butcher knife he bent like a banana. What person would do such a thing and then be allowed to walk the streets?”
Lawyers for Rasberry have cited eight grounds for his appeal, including an “unreasonable verdict” and a “harsh and excessive sentence.” Rasberry maintains he isn’t a flight risk and poses no danger.
“He wants this all over, so he’s not going to be jumping for joy or whatever, he just is focussed on coming to a conclusion and he’s anxious to get to court and to move ahead, ” defence lawyer Hersh Wolch said.
The Crown had already filed an appeal seeking a conviction of second-degree murder or a new trial.
READ MORE: Court shown video of crime scene knives during Rasberry murder trial
During his trial, Rasberry admitted to stabbing Kelloway, but said it was self defence after Kelloway threatened to sexually assault both him and his wife.
Rasberry and Kelloway lived two doors apart but hadn’t met until the day Kelloway was killed. The two men and their wives had gotten together for drinks and a barbecue. Later that night, Rasberry called 911 saying he had stabbed Kelloway. He told the operator that Kelloway had tried to have sex with him after their wives had gone to bed.
– With files from The Canadian Press.
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