Nathan Gervais, one of the men convicted in the 2013 swarming death of Lukas Strasser-Hird, won’t be eligible for parole for 25 years — a decision the victim’s family was happy to hear on Friday.
Gervais, 24, was found guilty of first-degree murder earlier this month with Justice William Tilleman saying the killing of Strasser-Hird was “predatory and calculated.”
Strasser-Hird was swarmed, kicked, beaten and stabbed outside a Calgary nightclub in November 2013. The 18-year-old later died in hospital.
Emotional victim impact statements were delivered at Friday’s sentencing hearing, with the first coming from Strasser-Hird’s grandmother, Deborah Hird, who said Gervais stole the essence of the family members left behind.
Strasser-Hird’s sister, Julia, who was nine at the time of his death, also delivered a statement, describing the emotional moments she watched him take his last breath in the hospital. Julia said after his death, she became very depressed and was eventually diagnosed with PTSD, adding she still struggles with thoughts of fear for her own safety five years after her brother’s death.
Following the statements, Tilleman quickly announced the sentence and Gervais, appearing unemotional, was whisked out of the courtroom.
WATCH: Calgary man found guilty of first-degree murder in swarming death of Lukas Strasser-Hird. Nancy Hixt reports.
Outside the court, Julia told media she wanted to speak to “let him know he hurt more than just my brother.”
“He’s hurt so many other people and everyone else in our family and I wanted to tell the judge that… with all the hearings… we just haven’t been able to grieve,” she said.
Strasser-Hird’s father Dale Hird also spoke after the sentencing hearing, saying the family “got exactly what we came for.”
“This is justice for Lukas the best it can be,” he said.
A panel of judges upheld the second-degree murder convictions last week of two of the other men involved in the attack on Strasser-Hird.
Two other men were accused in the case, one was convicted of manslaughter and the other was acquitted.