Alberta killer gets life for girlfriend’s videotaped murder

CALGARY – An Alberta man has received a life sentence with no chance of parole for 12 years after he stabbed his girlfriend and videotaped her death throes with his cellphone camera, court ruled today.

Travis Martel, 35, was convicted of second-degree murder for killing Sarah Nicole Rae, 24. Martel recorded Rae’s dying moments on his cellphone, and the video was a key piece of evidence during the trial.

Within moments of stabbing Rae in the chest on Aug. 3, 2008, Martel picked up his phone and, instead of calling 911, recorded her lying on the bed unconscious and moaning. He deleted the video, but it was recovered by police investigators.

In the video, Martel’s zooms in to the gaping wound in her chest and turns up heavy metal music as she gasps for her final breaths.

He also makes several callous comments, including: "Look at that wound you got there . . . straight to the sternum. Right on."

Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Peter McIntyre convicted Martel last week of second-degree murder. McIntyre concluded the two-minute, six-second video proved Martel’s intent and helped dispel his concocted story that the deadly incident at his home was an accident.

"What Martel says must be listened to in order to capture his tone of voice and state of mind," McIntyre said when finding Martel guilty. "He is calm and cool.

"In my view, this video is part of a continuous transaction, part of one act that culminated in Rae’s death. This video is not after the fact, it is part of the fact or event. In my view, it is the best evidence of what happened."

Martel was arrested for murder on Sept. 29, 2008, after being confronted with the video, forcing him to drop his claim that he wasn’t present at the time of Rae’s death.

Court heard Martel and Rae had been drinking with friends that night. Martel was jealous of Rae’s new boyfriend – and their conflict spilled over when the couple returned to Martel’s condo.

After Martel stabbed Rae, he took the video, phoned a friend to establish an alibi, then hid the murder weapon and clothes, all blood-stained, in the attic. He did not call 911 until two hours later.