Tim Collins/Victoria News
On Tuesday, Joshua Bredo stood before Judge Geoffrey Gaul in Victoria Law Courts to receive a sentence of nine years, two months, and 17 days for the brutal 2011 killing of Daniel Levesque.
Bredo, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter the day before, will serve an additional two years less a day in jail, with his pretrial custody, at a rate of one and a half time served, taken into account. The sentence spares him incarceration in a federal penitentiary (being less than two years) and will see him serve his time in a provincial institution.
Judge Gaul gave his reasons for the sentence, citing the history of the case, the mitigating factors, the victim impact statements given by Levesque’s family and friends, and the need for justice to be seen as appropriate and just. In the end, he accepted the joint recommendation of the defense and Crown attorneys in pronouncing sentence.
Stacey Thur, Levesque’s mother, cast doubt on the statement of remorse Bredo made to the court Monday.
“He is a pathological liar and for six years Daniel was vilified by this man trying to say Daniel was a terrible person; telling us we didn’t know our son at all,” she said. “It was all lies and now he’s admitted it. But he’s not remorseful.”
Thur said her son had been an exceptional human being and that it was what made him special that probably got him killed.
“He used to say, ‘Mom, everyone deserves a friend.’ That man took advantage of Daniel’s wonderful character, always supporting the underdog.”
Her son was the most serious of Bredo’s victims, she said, noting that it was previously revealed in court that Bredo had a string of other victims of his character and falsehoods.
Thur and her surviving son, Joel, and daughter, Lainey, stood outside the courthouse, embracing one another as Thur expressed her gratitude to her home community of Revelstoke for the town’s unflagging support.
She also thanked the friends and family who refused to walk away during the long and painful quest for justice.
“No sentence would have been long enough, although we’re happy it’s finally over. We can now go on to focus on Daniel’s beautiful life without focusing on his brutal death. We’ll never forget, but we will move on. It’s what Daniel would have wanted,” Thur said.
editor@vicnews.com
