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Man sentenced in Christmas Day killing of Thomas Braconnier in Red Deer hotel

Family is mourning the loss of Thomas Braconnier. He was the victim of a homicide in Red Deer on Christmas Day in 2015.
Family is mourning the loss of Thomas Braconnier. He was the victim of a homicide in Red Deer on Christmas Day in 2015. Supplied by family

A man has been sentenced to seven years in jail for stabbing another man 30 times at a central Alberta hotel on Christmas Day two years ago.

Chad Alexander Kulba, who is 35, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in September for killing Thomas Braconnier in 2015.

Court heard Braconnier, who was 46, had entered Kulba’s suite at the Buffalo Hotel in Red Deer, Alta., and pulled a knife from his belt.

READ MORE: ‘It’s a good day’: victim’s family happy charges laid in Christmas Day homicide

Kulba, who was heavily intoxicated from a mix of alcohol, prescription and illegal drugs, chased him downstairs and repeatedly stabbed him.

The judge said Monday that Kulba’s age, the fact that Braconnier came into his apartment uninvited and his relatively early guilty plea were mitigating factors.

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READ MORE: Freedom denied to accused in central Alberta Christmas Day homicide

Aggravating factors were the number of times Braconnier was stabbed, Kulba’s intoxicated state and his criminal record of 27 convictions.

Both Crown and defence agreed to Kulba receiving 1.5 times credit for the 23 months and two days he has already spent in custody, leaving him with just over four years left to serve.

-With files from RD News Now

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