WARNING: This story contains graphic and disturbing content.
An Edmonton man will go to prison after a judge denied his request to be declared not criminally responsible for the gruesome 2015 killing of his ex-girlfriend.
Silva Koshwal learned his fate in an Edmonton courtroom Thursday afternoon, after admitting earlier this week to stabbing Nadine Skow, 38, 101 times and mutilating her body.
“It is a big closure, but she’s gone,” Nadine’s father, Harvey Skow, said outside court. “But it is a big closure knowing there’s still justice.”
Koshwal, 42, was convicted Monday of the second-degree murder of Skow, as well as offering an indignity to her body. However, Koshwal’s lawyer, Peter Royal, then began to argue his client was not criminally responsible for his actions.
For such a ruling, Koshwal had to prove that he suffered from a mental disorder at the time of the killing which rendered him incapable of knowing what he did was wrong.
An agreed statement of facts read at the trial Monday stated Koshwal and Skow had dated for three years but were no longer together. Early on the morning of Aug. 24, 2015, Koshwal came to Skow’s building and walked into her suite.
He stabbed her to death, leaving a scene that senior homicide investigator Bill Clark described at the time as one of the most horrific of his long career.
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Koshwal kept stabbing her, even after she died, using multiple knives from her kitchen, the statement said.
Several tenants in the building at 104 Street and 106 Avenue heard a woman screaming. One said she yelled, “He’s going to kill me. Help me. He’s going to kill me” three times.
Nobody called police.
After Skow did not respond to text messages and missed an important meeting at work, colleagues went to check on her.
Her body had been mutilated and some of her organs removed. Letters had been written in blood on the suite’s walls.
A little more than a day later, Koshwal walked into the downtown police station and told an officer, “I killed my wife.”
Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Sterling Sanderman said there was more than enough evidence to convict Koshwal on both charges.
Psychologist Leslie Block examined Koshwal at the request of the defence. He determined Koshwal’s mental conditions have rendered him incapable of appreciating his actions. He shows signs of paranoia and delusions.
Block testified Koshwal’s past in South Sudan contributes to his mental illness. He witnessed militias raid his community. They killed people in what has been described as a genocide.
In the end, the judge decided the not criminally responsible argument was not a proper argument, throwing it out.
The victim’s father described his daughter as a “social butterfly” who called him every day.
“You miss that now,” he said. “She was a lot of fun, worked hard.”
Second-degree murder comes with an automatic life sentence.
What has to be determined now is how long Koshwal will spend behind bars before he can apply for parole, which could be anywhere from 10 to 25 years. That will be determined at a later date, when victim impact statements will also be read in court.
Watch below: (Aug. 19, 2019) Fletcher Kent has details of Day 1 of Koshwal’s trial. WARNING: Disturbing and graphic content included.
With files from Fletcher Kent, Global News.
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