Warning: this story contains graphic details that some readers may find disturbing.
A pair of teens sentenced 3.5 years ago to life in prison for the August 2019 killing of Delphin Paul Prestbakmo in South Surrey are to be in Vancouver court this week to appeal.
Officials with the B.C. Prosecution Service confirmed Monday (March 23) that the two, who are now adults – but whose identities remain protected under a publication ban for the time-being, due to their ages at the time of the offence – are scheduled for a hearing in the B.C. Court of Appeal on Friday (March 27) morning.
They were convicted of second-degree murder – following a trial – on May 18, 2021, in connection with Prestbakmo’s death.
The 45-year-old First Nations man, well-known and liked in the White Rock-South Surrey community, died in a parking lot at 18 Avenue and 152 Street just before 3:30 a.m. on Aug. 16, 2019.
Evidence during the trial revealed that Prestbakmo had been stabbed 42 times over the course of 26 seconds, shortly after he had stepped out of his residence to take out some garbage and have a cigarette.
The court heard that the convicted youths had been uninvited guests to a nearby house party, and their apparently chance encounter with Prestbakmo in the parking lot happened during a second period in which they had roamed the streets during the early hours of that morning.
In his 2021 verdict, Judge Robert Hamilton said the large number of wounds inflicted on Prestbakmo during the altercation, along with other factors – including that the teens had left the house party armed with knives – showed they had set out with “a lethal intent to kill.”
He then sentenced the teens as adults 18 months later in Surrey Provincial Court.
Aged 15 and 16 at the time of the crime, the offenders’ parole eligibility was set at seven years, in keeping with provisions of the Criminal Code and the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
The clock on full parole eligibility typically starts when an offender or offenders are taken into custody. Reaching the eligibility date does not mean an automatic release; that decision is made by the Parole Board of Canada.
– with files from Alex Browne