Sentencing has begun for two men found guilty of manslaughter in a death on the Nanaimo waterfront more than two years ago.
Fred Parsons, 29, was stabbed to death at Maffeo Sutton Park the night of Sept. 5, 2022. Mark Jayden Harrison, 21, and Aiden Matthew Bell, 21, were subsequently charged with second-degree murder, but found guilty of manslaughter by a 12-person jury in August. Sentencing began Tuesday, Jan. 21 at B.C. Supreme Court in Nanaimo, before justice Robin Baird.
Crown counsel Nick Barber is seeking seven to nine years for the two. Gloria Ng and Stephanie Head, Bell's defence, sought four to five years and Bobby Movassaghi, Harrison's counsel, four.
Parsons and two others got into an altercation with three people, including Harrison and Bell the night Parsons was killed. It is Barber's contention that Harrison dispersed bear spray while Bell stabbed Parsons.
In his submissions, Barber stated Bell and Harrison had been causing trouble prior to the incident, threatening a security guard at a parkade. They were "pumped and primed, looking for trouble," Barber said.
Ng pointed to Bell having a significant case of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and said evidence during trial casts doubt on whether her client was "pumped and primed" for violence. The security guard, she said, identified someone other than Bell as being aggressive in the parkade. Additional testimony did not point to Bell as the one who yelled and charged at the security guard, but did point to him being off to the side.
Bell has also secured employment with his stepfather's property maintenance company, who described him as kind, compassionate and a hard worker.
Movassaghi pointed to his client, who is of Aboriginal descent, having fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and a turbulent upbringing. His mother was absent and his father in jail, and he went through the foster care system.
Baird issued a publication ban on the name of Parsons's mother, who read a victim impact statement. She talked about how heartbroken the family was upon learning of Fred's death. He would "walk 100 miles to avoid conflict," she said and his death was "an enormous boulder heaved into the pond of [their] quiet lives" and "splattered pond slime, muck and ugliness in every direction."
Parsons's mother pointed to his sister, who began her career the day of his death, hiding her pain for 10 days before breaking down. The mother expressed disgust at seeing Bell leaving court after the jury rendered its decision, holding the hand of a girl. Parsons was taught that if he was kind to others, was responsible and hung out with good people, good things would come and no harm would find him.
The two guilty parties also addressed the court.
Bell said Parsons deserved to live his life as everyone else. He said he understood losing a loved one – his father had died of an overdose – but couldn't fathom losing a family member early at the hands of another person. All he could do was accept responsibility for his actions and pray that Parsons rests in peace.
Harrison apologized and said he was at a loss for words and didn't know what to say to get Parsons's family to forgive him. There's no excuse, he said, nor is there any justifying it or any way to fix it.
A date for Baird's decision is expected to be established on Feb. 3.
