A man who stabbed his girlfriend in the chest, then callously used his cellphone camera to record her dying moments, has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 12 years.
But, in giving his sentence on Tuesday, court of Queen’s Bench Justice Peter McIntyre said the most egregious aspect of Travis Martel’s crime was the "dreadful charade" for two months after he killed Sarah Nicole Rae, 24,
"From Aug, 3, 2008, until the end of September you were maintaining to police and the world that someone else committed it," said McIntyre.
"I see evidence in the email you sent (to the victim’s father Gordon Rae), talking about obtaining grief counselling. For the period of almost two months, you pretended some third party committed the offence, when you knew your role in this."
Court heard Martel, 35, and the victim had been drinking at the Back Alley bar that night, then returned to his home in the 6100 block of 4th Ave. N.E., where an argument apparently ensued.
However, the judge said he could only conclude that Martel intentionally stabbed the petite woman, who worked as an esthetician at Merle Norman in Chinook Centre, and was jealous of her new boyfriend.
He said he couldn’t conclude anything else leading up to the crime as Martel was a serial and repetitive liar and he couldn’t believe anything Martel said.
McIntyre insisted there was no evidence of provocation by Rae, who had been dating Martel on and off for 4 1/2 years.
Crown prosecutor Gord Wong had argued for parole ineligibility of 17 to 19 years. Defence lawyer Balfour Der sought the minimum 10 years for his client.
Gordon Rae was clearly unhappy with the sentence imposed on his daughter’s killer, but shrugged it off, saying Canadian courts don’t take murder seriously enough.
"I don’t even know what we wanted," he said outside court moments after the sentencing was handed down. "We want (Sarah) back but, no matter what sentence, it doesn’t bring her back."
Prior to sentencing, Martel apologized to the Rae family, her friends and his own family for causing them "shame," as well as city police for "wasting their time and services."
Wong noted during his argument that it was not the first time Martel had been the perpetrator of domestic violence. He was previously convicted in 2001 of assaulting another woman with whom he had a lengthy relationship.
The shocking video, which Martel deleted and had to be recovered by a police technical expert, was the key piece of evidence against him.
McIntyre concluded that the two-minute, six-second video proved Martel’s intent and helped dispel his concocted story that the deadly incident at his northeast condo was an accident.
The judge noted in his verdict on Friday that Martel, within moments of stabbing Rae, 24, in the chest, had picked up his phone and instead of calling 911, recorded her lying on the bed unconscious and moaning.
In the video, Martel zooms in on the gaping wound in her chest and turns up heavy metal music as she gasps her final breaths.
He also makes several callous comments, including: "Look at that wound you got there . . . straight to the sternum. Right on."
It was only after being confronted by the video, recovered by a police technical crime expert, after he was arrested for murder on Sept. 29, 2008, that he changed his story from not being present at the time and another man likely killing her, to being an accident.
Martel then led police to the murder weapon and blood-covered clothes he had hidden in the attic. He did not call 911 until two hours later.
dslade@theherald.canwest.com
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