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WARNING

Cole Lupaschuk, 22, was stabbed to death April 23rd, 2005.

Lupaschuk was Edmonton's ninth homicide victim of the year.

Kayla Ellen Brown, 22, and Daniel Silva, 21, were charged with second-degree murder. Brown was also charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder.

On November 19th, 2007 Kayla Ellen Brown and Daniel Silva were in Court of Queen's Bench facing a judge and jury in the matter of the second-degree murder of Cole Lupaschuk.

On December 13th a jury found Daniel Silva, now 24, guilty of second-degree murder and Kayla Brown, also now 24, guilty of being an accessory after the fact to murder.

On January 18th, 2008 Court of Queen's Bench Justice Stephen Hillier read out his sentencing decision for the pair – see latest update.

Edmonton's ninth homicide victim of the year was found by a couple returning from a late night motorcycle ride. The young man was discovered bleeding to death while still buckled up in the driver's seat of a blue Honda Accord which had came to rest on a front lawn at 13847 25 Street at about 1:00 a.m. on April 23rd, 2005.

The car appeared to have no damage to it and the engine was running. The passenger door was wide open and music could be heard coming from the car's stereo. A witness noticed the victim had no shoes or socks ... and emergency medical personnel quickly determined he had no pulse either, pronouncing the man dead at the scene.

Police recovered a weapon and stated the attack did not appear to have been a random act. Detectives questioned did not elaborate on the type of weapon found or why they believe the man's murder was targetted.

Police at the time said there was no indication the incident was gang-related but they were still trying to determine who owned the car. Investigators said they didn't know if anyone was in the vehicle with the victim when he was killed.

An autopsy revealed Cole Lupaschuk, 22, was killed by a stab wound to the chest.

A friend of Lupaschuk was in cellphone conversation with him at the time of the attack. Lupaschuk reportedly had been in fear for his life in the week leading up to his death, and only had time to shout a warning before the call was terminated.

Police later assigned the gang unit to the case and within days detectives focused on a couple who had fled to Lethbridge in southern Alberta.

With family acting as a go-between, police were able to convince Kayla Ellen Brown to turn herself in to local authorities.

Hours later, police had arrested her boyfriend, Daniel Silva, in the town of Coalhurst – 10 kilometres west of Lethbridge. He was also arrested without incident.

At least one of the suspects knew the victim, police said. The pair were transported back to Edmonton where they appeared in court on May 4th, 2005 to face formal charging.

Cole Lupaschuk was described as the all-Canadian kid. The Ross Sheppard high school graduate was known for his easygoing nature and passion for hockey.

He was "another one of those Canadian kids" who lived and breathed hockey according to coach Al Bremer.

"He was one of those guys who kept everything loose, telling stories in the change room," Bremer said. "He got along well with everybody."

Cole Lupaschuk was the middle child for Doug and Rhoda Lupaschuk, and all three of their kids shone in sports.

Dena Lupaschuk, Cole's younger sister, was goaltender for NAIT's women's soccer team. Older brother Ross enjoyed a three-game stint playing for the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins (he later played for the Wilkes-Barre AHL franchise before joining teams in Sweden and Finland).

Ross flew back from Pennsylvania to Edmonton as soon as he learned of his brother's death. Upon return, he and his family had to face suggestion that Cole was a minor player in the city's drug trade.

For someone to claim Cole died because he was dealing drugs was a complete violation of the family's privacy and a distortion of who her brother was, Dena was quoted telling the Edmonton Journal.

"He liked to help people. He was a people pleaser. He was an outgoing person who liked to make people laugh," she said.

According to friends and family, the night Cole died he had dropped some friends off at a bar and said he had to meet someone in the city's east end.

Rhoda said whoever killed her son stabbed him several times in the legs and then once in the heart. "They stabbed him in the legs so he couldn't run."

Friend Brad Eamon said he was surprised to learn through media reports that Cole might have been dealing drugs. That's not the Lupaschuk that he knew.

"To see that ... it's pretty rough on everybody," Eamon said.

After the arrests of Brown and Silva Cole's mother said, "I hope it's them."

The woman continued to deny her son's involvement in the drug trade.

"He was absolutely not using drugs," she said, "and to our knowledge he wasn't selling drugs nor was he a drug dealer. He was a good boy and everybody loved him."

On November 19th, 2007 Kayla Ellen Brown and Daniel Silva were in Court of Queen's Bench facing a judge and jury in the matter of the second-degree murder of Cole Lupaschuk. Brown was also charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder.

Not facing the pair were Doug and Rhoda Lupaschuk.

Cole's parents sat beside each other in the front row of the courtroom but as far away from their son's accused killers as possible.

In opening statements, Crown prosecutor Anne Schutte told the court what was expected to be proven in the scheduled four week trial that would hear from nearly 30 witnesses.

Schutte painted the scenario of a desperate Lethbridge couple who had come to Edmonton to settle a drug debt – with the anticipated quick cash to be used to avoid eviction from their apartment.

Brown was said to be getting plenty of money from the father of her child ... but it wasn't enough for the couple to make ends meet.

The prosecutor stated that Brown and Silva had told their friends they were driving from Lethbridge to Edmonton to pick up money from the sale of Silva's car. However, records indicated Silva never owned a car. And at the time Brown had 31 cents in her bank account.

Evidence expected to be introduced would show that Brown had called Lupaschuk on her cellphone six times as they drove into the provincial capital.

The last call was placed at 12:19 a.m. on April 23rd, 2005 – a half-hour before Lupaschuk was found dead in his car, stabbed and cut 15 times.

Schutte described Cole Lupaschuk as a small-time cocaine dealer.

Despite published protestations from friends and family to the contrary, Lupaschuk was known to normally carry drugs and money in his car. Police found 10 grams of cocaine and 2.5 grams of marijuana in his car when his body was discovered.

Court heard an autopsy indicated most of Lupaschuk's wounds came from a butcher knife found with his body, including the fatal blow to the centre of his chest.

Two wounds came from another knife, and Schutte said she would ask the jury to infer that Brown was the person who inflicted the secondary wounds.

According to an agreed statement of facts read into the record, police found blood on a shoe belonging to Silva. Blood was also found on the console and carpet of the car the two accused were driving.

It had yet to be determined if the blood was a match to Lupaschuk.

The prosecutor said Silva had told police that Lupaschuk had attacked him with the butcher knife and he had "fought for his life."

Fearing the court would lose focus in a case that seemed to have been ripped from the back pages of the newspaper and the subordinate storyline of criminal evidence television programs, Schutte reminded those charged with determining the fate of Kayla Brown and Daniel Silva that the life of a loved one had been lost.

"It is very easy for you and me to write him off and say, oh well, another drug dealer is dead," Schutte told the jury of Cole's plight.

"But he is still a human being who was stabbed and cut 15 times over, and he deserved the protection of the law."

As the trial began, the judge directed the jury to find Brown not guilty of second-degree murder.

On December 13th, 2007 the jury in the Cole Lupaschuk second-degree murder trial began deliberating.

During the trial, lawyers argued Daniel Silva had acted in self-defence.

Silva testified that Lupaschuk had lunged at him with a knife after he told Lupaschuk he was short about $4,000 on an outstanding drug tab between the pair.

The prosecution maintained that Silva and co-accused Kayla Brown had driven from Lethbridge to Edmonton with the sole purpose of robbing Lupaschuk.

The pair met Cole outside a Mac's convenience store. After the attack, Silva and Bornw forgot to take the money, cocaine and marijuana from Cole's car.

Court heard that after the stabbing Brown drove Silva at least part of the way to Lethbridge, which had lead police to charging her with being an accessory after the fact to murder.

After the pair arrived in Lethbridge, Silva had gone to a hospital to receive treatment for a wound to his hand. Brown turned herself in; Silva surrendered when walked out of his home and knocked on the window of the police car that had stopped by.

The jury started deliberations at noon after they heard instructions from the judge presiding over the trial.

By evening, the eleven jurors had made up their minds, finding Daniel Silva, now 24, guilty of second-degree murder and Kayla Brown, also now 24, guilty of being an accessory after the fact to murder.

Second-degree murder carries a sentence of mandatory life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 10 to 25 years.

The jurors made various recommendations regarding Silva's parole term, with five recommending twenty years.

That sat well with Cole Lupaschuk's family who shared approving glances with several of the jurors.

Asked outside court for reaction, Cole's father Doug said: “Couldn't be sweeter.” And after the two-and-a-half years that had passed since she lost her brother, Cole's sister remarked it was “about time," noting Christmas would see two families putting out one less plate on the festive table.

"He won't be spending Christmas with his father, just like my brother won't be spending Christmas with our family."

When he heard the verdict, Silva bowed his head and shook it from side to side. With deep breaths he stared at the floor, avoiding eye contact with the Lupaschuk family. Brown showed no emotion.

On January 18th, 2008 the pair would be in court again to hear a judge's decision regarding Silva's parole eligibility and Brown's sentence. While Silva is in custody, Brown remains free on bail.

It was learned that just as deliberations began one juror was dismissed.

The man had told fellow jurors he did not believe in the Canadian Criminal Code, but instead believed in the “law of the jungle” when it came to self-defence.

The issue arose when the jury's foreman had sent the judge a note saying there was a problem with one of the jurors and they didn't know how to proceed.

The note was read out in court, the judge questioned the man and after he admitted the allegations were accurate, he was let go.

The man tried to explain to the court the other jurors were “all over him” because of his beliefs. However, judge cut him off and told him to simply answer his questions.

After the man was escorted out of the building, the judge apologised to the remaining 11 jurors for the “disruption” and asked if they could continue. After it was indicated they could, deliberations resumed.

The incident was something the two long-time veteran defence lawyers had never seen before.

In 2001, a juror in an assault case was dismissed and jailed overnight for showing up drunk during trial. In other cases, members of the gallery have often been removed for wearing clothing indicating support for criminal organisations or making inappropriate remarks.

On January 18th, 2008 Court of Queen's Bench Justice Stephen Hillier read out his sentencing decision for two persons convicted in connection with the stabbing death of 22-year-old Cole Lupaschuk.

Hillier sentenced Daniel Silva, 24, to life in prison with no chance parole for 15 years on a charge of second-degree murder.

Silva's onetime girlfriend, 25-year-old Kyla Brown, was sentenced to 22 months on a charge of accessory after the fact to murder. Brown was to serve her term in the community.

Silva, described as a former gang member, hung his head and rubbed his temples when he heard his sentence. Brown showed no emotion when she heard hers.

In his ruling, Court of Queen's Bench Justice Stephen Hillier said the "raw and senseless" circumstances of the slaying "tear at the very heart of civilised society."

Hillier rejected Silva's testimony that Lupaschuk attacked him first, lunging at him with a knife. The judge noted that Lupaschuk was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the attack.

The judge reflected on Brown's lack of willigness to either help Lupaschuk during the attack or to notify or make herself available to police.

Hillier said that in addition to the pair forgetting to take Lupaschuk's money, cocaine and marijuana from his car, Brown left her driver's licence in the back seat.

But a lack of permit didn't deter Brown from from helping Silva escape by driving him to Lethbridge – paying for gas along the way – where she dropped him off at a hospital to receive treatment for wounds to his hands.

In an attempt to evade police Brown moved out of her home into a trailer outside the southern Alberta city, Hillier said.

But despite Brown's "sustained failure to report the matter to police as a witness," Hillier ruled that with no prior criminal record, her responsibilities to her four-year-old child suffering from cancer and her commitment to rehabilitation, a conditional sentence was appropriate.

After getting double credit for time she spent in pre-trial custody, Brown was left with eight months to serve at home in Lethbridge. She'll be able to leave her house for activities such as going to school, attending religious services, taking her child to medical appointments and shopping.

"The message is you can kill someone and watch TV," a member of Lupashuck's family said outside court.

While such reaction can be expected from kin after a sentencing hearing, remarks from one quarter stood out.

Bill Clark, the homicide detective who led the investigation into Cole's stabbing, said Brown's punishment didn't fit the crime.

"It's a joke that a person can be found guilty of accessory to murder and get a conditional sentence," he said.

That Brown was also charged with second-degree murder by police through the Crown prosecutor's office spoke to Clark's still-held belief she was an "active participant" in Lupaschuk's murder.

deadmonton 2005 - cole lupaschuk