Convicted killer loses appeal to be sentenced as youth

Alberta’s highest court has rejected an appeal from the young man who killed 17 year old Even Grykuliak to be sentenced as a youth.

20 year old Dexter Ian Estacio was 17 years old on November 19, 2006 when he and two friends showed up at the La Perle Community Hall where Grykuliak was having his birthday party. A fight broke out and Estacio stabbed Grykuliak six times, killing him quickly. Estacio and his friends fled the scene but were arrested several days later. He was later charged with second degree murder.

Estacio “had no real appreciation of the enormity of his crime and no sense of responsibility for it,” the Court of Appeal wrote in its decision, released Thursday.

The appeal was filed two weeks after Estacio was sentenced to life in prison without eligibility for parole for seven years. Estacio claimed the judge had made a mistake not sentencing him as a youth and allowing him to serve time at a youth facility until he turned 20. The Court of Appeal disagreed.

“None of the evidence before the court suggested that a youth sentence would be sufficient to hold the offender accountable and offer some assurance that he would not reoffend upon expiration of that sentence,” the decision says.

At the time of the murder, Estacio was a drug dealer and a member of the Crazy Dragons.

“The offence was among the most serious of crimes, committed by a near-adult offender who was found to have no real remorse and who revelled in the prospect that the killing would enhance his reputation as a dangerous thug,” the decision said.

With files from The Edmonton Journal