The family of slain Squamish student Sam Eves say they're deeply disturbed by news that his killer will only serve 10 months after being found guilty of manslaughter following initial charges of second-degree murder.
Ander Kumar Walker-Huria, 21, was sentenced to four years in jail at North Vancouver Provincial Court on Thursday May 14 for the stabbing death of 16-year-old Eves at a house party in Valleycliffe in March of 2007.
Thanks to B.C.'s 2-for-1 pre-trial time-served credit, Walker-Huria won't spend very long behind bars. He's spent the last two years and two months in custody and will not serve any further time for the crime.
Sam's father, Colin Eves, said he is appalled that a convicted killer will be released within months of his sentencing date.
"My concerns are centered on the plea bargain struck between Crown counsel and the defense, whereby the Crown agreed to seek only a five year sentence in exchange for a guilty plea to manslaughter," he said in an email from Zambia where the family is doing relief work on behalf of the SAM Project, a non-profit set up to honour the life of their son.
Walker-Huria will serve another 10 months as part of a 14-month sentence for charges laid in his home province of Ontario.
He was accused of stabbing Eves to death following a verbal altercation that ended in violence.
According to reports at the time, Eves lay dying on the driveway with severe wounds to his stomach.
After an intense RCMP manhunt, including a police helicopter and roadblocks, 19-year-old Walker-Huria gave himself up to police.
Since Walker-Huria's arrest, the Eves family have been outspoken in their concerns about B.C. judicial system.
According to reports, Walker-Huria has a criminal record dating back 2006, when he faced 12 charges for offences that were all committed on the same day including the home invasion.
Eves said prosecutors knew little about Walker-Huria's past, which included a skipped court hearing in Ontario for crimes.
At the time of Sam's death, he was also on probation for assault and break-and-enter.
"There is a very urgent need for the Attorney-General to re-evaluate the administration on the Canadian Criminal Justice System in our province," Eves said.
"I was appalled when I found out they waited a year to interview witnesses. We are deeply disturbed," Eves said.
In the meantime, the Eves family will continue to operate their non-profit SAM Project, which has food-growing projects in several Zambian villages.
"We will continue to work to pressure the state to make the necessary changes that are urgently needed to correct this failed system," said Eves. "In the meantime, the activities of the SAM Project assisting the rural poor in Southern Africa, help us to honour our young son's life, while exposing some of Sam's friends and peer group to a larger world that exists beyond the town limits of Squamish."
