Man pleads guilty to manslaughter in 2010 stabbing death

CALGARY — Facing a potential life sentence on second-degree murder in the stabbing death of a man at a southwest Calgary apartment more than two years ago, [The accused] pleaded guilty through his lawyer Greg Dunn on Tuesday to manslaughter.

Chief Crown prosecutor Lloyd Robertson told Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Suzanne Bensler that he had consented to the plea by the 31-year-old accused on the lesser, included charge relating to the death of the Victim, 36.

Robertson read brief facts to support the guilty plea regarding the Aug. 27, 2010, incident at the apartment on 21st Avenue S.W., but said he and co-counsel Kyra Kondro and defence lawyers Dunn and Tyson Dahlem would present comprehensive facts to court for sentencing arguments on Thursday.

Police previously said the Victim was fatally stabbed in the apartment during an argument with a resident.

A family member of the victim said at the time the victim had been stabbed once in the heart or the chest with scissors.

Police took a resident of the building into custody after arriving at the scene.

Several of the victim’s family members, including his mother, were in court on Tuesday to hear the plea.

A victim impact statement by the mother will be read in court prior to sentencing arguments.

The victim’s uncle said just days after the stabbing that [The accused], who delivered pizzas for a living, had fled Somalia to escape a future threatened by violence and fighting.