A man from Yellow Grass, Sask. has been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to a reduced charge in the killing of Abbie Speir three years ago.
On Thursday, Kevin Okafor pleaded guilty to second-degree murder at Queen’s Bench in Regina. He was initially charged with murder in the first degree.
Okafor was sentenced to life in prison. He will be eligible for parole after he serves 16 years in prison.
Speir, 33, was found dead following a house fire in Yellow Grass, Sask. on April 20, 2017.
A socially-distanced crowd of friends and family members filled three courtrooms at the Regina Court of Queen’s Bench courthouse Thursday.
Victim impact statements revealed Speir had expressed concern about Okafor for weeks, and that she reported to family members having been punched by Okafor on a trip to Saskatoon. Family members were set to help Abbie move to a new home in Weyburn the day after she died.
Those family members and friends listened as Crown attorneys revealed how Okafor stabbed Speir 55 times with a kitchen knife after Okafor confronted Speir in their home about her desire to end the relationship.
He then started a fire in the basement of the home. A neighbour saw smoke and investigated, discovering Speir’s body.
At the time, Milestone RCMP called her death suspicious. Okafor was arrested the same evening in the Swift Current area following a police chase on Highway 1.
Okafor, 41, was born in Scotland and immigrated to Canada in 1999.
It was revealed in court that Okafor was found guilty of a domestic assault charge in 2011.
Speir and Okafor were in a relationship for six years according to the Crown.
Speir’s family spoke to media following the sentencing, saying they were relieved to finally see a development in the case after more than three years.
“No sentence would bring about justice for the loss of her life. Still, we are grateful for the guilty plea and resolution to this part of the legal process,”said Speir’s sister Lorelle Linke.
Though they didn’t go into detail, the family also expressed disappointment about their experience in the legal system.
“We will be working in our own respective ways to share more about the experiences of walking through the legal system as victims. We will be advocating for changes to the processes that our family found particularly frustrating and difficult,” said Speir’s other sister, Leah Perrault.
- ‘Shock and disbelief’ after Manitoba school trustee’s Indigenous comments
- Canadian man dies during Texas Ironman event. His widow wants answers as to why
- Several baby products have been recalled by Health Canada. Here’s the list
- ‘Sciatica was gone’: hospital performs robot-assisted spinal surgery in Canadian first
Comments