An Ontario man who tried to kill a baby and her mother out of hatred for women was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday, with a judge calling his crime “an attempt to terrorize a community.”
Justice Karen Lische said Alexander Stavropoulos planned for months to kill a white baby girl in Sudbury, Ont., for “shock value.” Court heard that the 28-year-old man attacked complete strangers after lurking for hours in a parking lot on June 3, 2019.
“This is an attempt to terrorize a community by committing a crime so shocking that people take note,” Lische said during a virtual hearing.
“Society cannot protect itself from this type of unthinkable and brutally violent crime that is so random and based on such hatred. These crimes have ruined an entire family unit.”
Court heard Stavropoulos was an admitted so-called “incel” _ or involuntary celibate _ who hated white women, especially those who were in interracial relationships.
Stavropoulos, a white man, pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder and one count of breach of probation in January 2020.
He told police he was inspired by Alek Minassian, a young man who deliberately drove a van down a crowded Toronto sidewalk in April 2018, eventually killing 11 and injuring 15. Minassian also called himself an incel who hated women because they wouldn’t sleep with him, and told police he craved notoriety.
Court heard that Stavropoulos moved to Sudbury to get away from Toronto because he found it “too multicultural.”
“His motivation, in whole or part, was hatred of white females as he felt rejected by them,” Lische said. “He chose this family, all strangers to him, because there was a young, white female in a stroller he wanted to kill.”
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Stavropoulos, with a curly, receding hairline, held his head in his hands for much of the decision. His lawyer said an appeal of the sentence is unlikely.
“Alexander is disappointed with the result, but he understands,” said Nicholas Xynnis.
Court heard Stavropoulos decided that June morning to act on his plan to kill a white baby, knowing he’d also have to kill a parent first.
He left his apartment, had a coffee, then took the bus to a Home Depot to buy a knife, court heard. When he couldn’t find a knife big enough, he bought a four-pack of utility knives.
In the parking lot, he tossed two of the knives and held the other two in each hand, court heard.
He admitted to waiting in that parking lot until a woman, her eight-month-old baby girl in a stroller, and her three-year-old daughter came out of a store.
Stavropoulos attacked the mother after her older daughter got in the car. She did not see him coming.
He stabbed her repeatedly in the back of the neck and head. The first stab sliced open a vertebral artery, which carries blood to the brain, court heard.
“This is a fatal injury if left untreated due to blood loss,” the judge said.
Stavropoulos then turned to the baby, who was covered in her mother’s blood. He began punching and trying to stab the baby girl.
Then help arrived.
Brent Holder heard screams and saw Stavropoulos punching into the stroller, court heard.
He took action and tackled Stavropoulos, knocking the knives loose and keeping him from the baby.
At the same time, Crystal Bouliane, an emergency room resident doctor rushed to the mother’s side, putting pressure on the wound. Paramedics rushed the woman to hospital where lifesaving surgery was performed.
“Throughout this case, wherever you look, you see heroic acts that culminated together to save lives,” Lische said.
The mother remains in great physical pain and worries about living “with one less artery to her head,” the judge said. The woman also lives with anxiety and panic attacks, court heard.
In the ensuing months, the woman’s baby “refused to sit with her and it took time to win back her child’s trust,” the judge said.
The mother worries about how this will affect her children as they grow up and what to say when her youngest daughter asks how she got the scar on her chin, the judge said.
The woman’s husband and parents remain traumatized, court heard.
“The level of cruelty, the level of brutality, the level of violence is shocking,” Lische said.
Court heard Stavropoulos was out on parole at the time of the attack. A year earlier he had a violent confrontation with police, who shot him while he wielded a weapon. He planned at that time to either kill someone or die in a “suicide by cop,” court heard.
The judge said Stavropoulos repeatedly lied and manipulated his parole officer and medical professionals who evaluated him.
At a sentencing hearing in September, Stavropoulos apologized to his victims. The judge refused the apology Wednesday.
The Crown sought a sentence of life in prison, while the defence sought a sentence of 12 years, minus time already spent in custody. Stavropolous will not be eligible to apply for parole for seven years from the date of his arrest.
“Nothing less than a life sentence is fit,” the judge said.
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