The family and friends of Lukas Strasser-Hird, a young man who was swarmed and stabbed to death outside a Calgary nightclub in 2013, read their victim impact statements on Friday.
Earlier this month, 24-year-old Nathan Gervais was found guilty of first-degree murder in Strasser-Hird’s death and will received an automatic life sentence with no parole for 25 years.
Lukas Strasser-Hird, 18, was swarmed, beaten and stabbed outside a nightclub in 2013 and later succumbed to his injuries in hospital.
Gervais was charged with first-degree murder shortly after Strasser-Hird's death but failed to appear at his court hearing in 2016 because he had fled the country.
He was arrested in Vietnam approximately a year later.
The court heard during the trial that Gervais first got into a fight with the victim outside the Vinyl nightclub and then went to his vehicle to retrieve a knife, which was used in the attack on the young man in a nearby alley.
When he was convicted of first-degree murder, Gervais was also sentenced to 15 months in jail for breaching his bail conditions by escaping to Vietnam. With credit, Gervais has 200 days left to serve on that count.
In her victim impact statement, Julia Hird, Lukas' sister, says she continues to feel the effects of the loss of her 'best friend, biggest support, and greatest role model' and the brutal nature of Lukas' death continues to haunt her.
"This horrific crime not only left me traumatized, but also left me permanently fearful," said Julia Hird in her statement. "Our justice system letting a supposedly innocent man out on bail prior to his trial made me lose faith in our government and society, as well as defense services. I am extremely paranoid in public places, more so than ever before. Lukas’ murder has seemingly obliged me to feel like a possible target somehow.It’s utterling unsettling, knowing that he was let off on bail and went to school down the street from my house. I’m ever so fearful of the lives of my friends and loved ones. I hope for a time where I will not be so anxious. Nevertheless, by the time I have my own children, Gervais may walk a free man. This is incredibly disturbing, knowing my children could quite possibly cross paths with the man who took their uncle’s life."
Earlier this month, the Alberta Court of Appeal upheld the conviction of two other men charged in connection with Strasser-Hird's death. Assmar Shlah and Franz Cabrera were both found guilty of second-degree murder.
