Manslaughter in stabbing death of homeless Calgary man

Defence lawyer Matt Deshaye said Wildman, 39, who originally pleaded not guilty to the charge, was ready to admit her guilt.

The fatal stabbing of a homeless hitchhiker during morning rush-hour traffic was so swift, the driver who picked him up didn’t know his female passenger had committed a homicide, a Calgary court heard Tuesday.

Crown prosecutor Tom Buglas told provincial court Judge Bruce Fraser that only confessed killer Ronita Wildman knows why she fatally stabbed a man described by a shelter worker as “a gentle person.”

Wildman, who was initially identified by police as Wildman-Rider, pleaded guilty to an Oct. 6, 2020, charge of manslaughter in connection with the death of David Graburn Bawden.

Defence lawyer Matt Deshaye said Wildman, 39, who originally pleaded not guilty to the charge, was ready to admit her guilt.

Reading from a statement of agreed facts, Buglas told Fraser that Bawden, 59, was hitchhiking along Memorial Drive E. when he was picked up by Kevin Ear, who had met Wildman for the first time the previous evening before spending the night with her in a Taber motel.

“Ear pulled over and offered Bawden a ride,” Buglas said.

“At approximately 8:43 a.m. the car stopped at a red light, eastbound on Memorial Drive at 36th Street N.E. The car was at a complete stop in a left-turn lane,” he said.

“Up to that point there had been small talk amongst the occupants, but nothing of particular note. For reasons best known to Wildman, while the car was stopped as described, she turned in the front passenger seat and stabbed Bawden with a sharp object.”

The single stab wound punctured Bawden’s heart.

Buglas said the victim immediately exited the vehicle and stumbled into a road sign before falling face down on the median.

Wildman then reached back and closed the passenger-side rear door before the light turned green and Ear made a left-hand turn onto 36th Street.

According to the agreed facts, signed by Wildman and co-defence counsel Jim Lutz, Ear was oblivious to the violence that had just taken place in his car.

“Ear did not know that Bawden had been stabbed,” Buglas said.

“He thought it was rude of Bawden to leave the car without saying goodbye, or offering thanks for the ride.”

The prosecutor said Bawden had been employed earlier in his life, but by the time of his death had been homeless for at least a decade and was estranged from family.

“That is part of the reason you see an empty court here. There has not been a familial interest in this case,” Buglas said.

At Deshaye’s request, Fraser ordered a presentence report be prepared by probation, as well as a separate report into Wildman’s Indigenous background.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for December for Wildman, who remains in custody.