Man found guilty of 2nd-degree murder of his father in Kerrobert, Sask.

Johan “Johnny” Klassen Jr. was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of his 53-year-old father, Johan Klassen Sr.

Court heard how Klassen Jr. stomped on his father’s head and slashed his neck in an apartment they were sharing in Kerrobert, Sask., in the early morning hours of Nov. 2, 2016.

In his lengthy oral judgement, Justice Gerald Allbright said he believed Klassen Jr. was suffering from schizophrenia that night, but he said Klassen Jr. still knew what he was doing was wrong when he murdered his father.

Allbright said Klassen Jr.’s description of killing his father in his statement to RCMP in November 2016 was clear and had many details.

During trial, court heard how after the murder Klassen Jr. took his father’s car and then stole a semi from a farm yard north of Kerrobert. Klassen Jr. became stuck in a slough northwest of Luseland preceding a lengthy standoff with RCMP.

Allbright sentenced Klassen Jr. to life in prison, with no eligibility for parole for 10 years.

Allbright also made a strong recommendation that Klassen Jr. serve his sentence at the Regional Psychiatric Centre.

In October, court heard the testimony of two of Klassen Jr.’s brothers, Jake and David Klassen.

“Given the familial dynamics, the fact that not only did the two brothers lose their father, in a sense, they’ve lost their brother because he was found guilty,” Crown prosecutor Dorinda Stahl said Friday at Saskatoon’s Court of Queen’s Bench.

Defence lawyer, Erin Little, did not call any evidence in the trial. Little argued he should be found not criminally responsible based on Klassen Jr.’s mental disorder.