A Kelowna man has been found guilty of manslaughter in the stabbing of his friend.
Chad Alphonse was on trial for the second-degree murder of Waylon Jackson, after fatally stabbing him during a drunken fight in the victim’s home in March 2016.
After deliberating for a day, the jury decided Alphonse was guilty of manslaughter. It was a decision that the victim’s family found upsetting.
“I was very angry when I heard the verdict, and I just cried,” Jackson’s mother, Christine Whiskeyjack, said.
“I feel like he deserved more than a manslaughter charge.”
Percy Jackson, the victim’s father, said he was also disappointed in the verdict.
“They let my son down. They let me down as a family. They let my granddaughter down. It’s just like they slapped him on the wrist and said, ‘It’s OK.’”
Defence lawyer Terry La Liberté said he was happy with the jury’s decision.
“It was the right verdict in terms of not being murder. This was never a murder case,” he said.
“They found there wasn’t the intent to kill, there wasn’t an intent to commit grievous bodily harm,” he added.
Jackson’s family said they don’t feel like they saw justice. They’re hoping they’ll find closure after the sentencing but said they couldn’t forgive Alphonse.
La Liberté said he will likely be seeking probation or a conditional sentence, which could mean Alphonse would serve his sentence out of jail under strict conditions.
Alphonse is currently on probation at Vision Quest, an organization that is helping him recover from alcoholism, according to his lawyer.
The prosecution’s office said that while manslaughter wasn’t the verdict it had advocated for, it respects the court’s decision. It wouldn’t comment on whether there would be an appeal.
A sentencing date has not been set, but lawyers will be back in court April 9.
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