A Calgary courtroom erupted in shouting on Saturday afternoon after a 22-year-old man was found guilty of second degree murder in the fatal stabbing of a 20-year-old man at a northwest house party.
Mitchell Harkes broke down in tears in the prisoners’ box during the delivery of the verdict where he was found guilty of seven offences including second degree murder, attempted murder, and aggravated assault.
In January 2013, Brett Wiese, a University of Calgary student, was stabbed multiple times during a house party in the 5100 block of Brisebois Drive Northwest. The fatal altercation occurred after several people who had been kicked out of the party returned armed with knives.
Harkes admitted to stabbing Wiese six times as well as stabbing another man who survived the attack but claims he was not attempting to kill the two men.
Following the jury's verdict, a member of Wiese’s family shouted ‘He’s a murderer’ and a Harkes family member responded with cursing. Sheriffs separated the two parties.
“I’m disappointed about this one,” said Balfour Der, Harkes' defence lawyer. “It’s not a murder. It’s not a murder. There was a paucity of evidence linking my client to this girl who stabbed him, strong medical evidence that said my client wasn’t the cause of death here.”
“I discussed this with my client, I recommended that he appeal it because the verdict, in my opinion, is just unreasonable.”
Jazlyn Radke was convicted of second-degree murder in connection with Wiese’s death earlier this year. Radke, who was 17 at the time of the stabbing, was sentenced as an adult and received life without parole for seven years.
"The verdict today, as well as Radke's verdict and her sentence, really has little or no meaning, or bearing on us and our future," said Brenda Wiese, Brett's mother. "We are clearly the ones that have been given life sentence and there's absolutely nothing anyone can give us that can make our pain less."
A date for sentencing will be determined on Tuesday. A second degree murder conviction carries an automatic life sentence with no parole for at least 10 years.
With files from CTV's Ina Sidhu
