A man convicted of second-degree murder in the death of a much-loved Vancouver park caretaker should get a life sentence without parole eligibility for 12 years, a B.C. Supreme Court judge heard July 11.
Kitsilano resident Brent Steven White was convicted in the death of Justis Daniel, caretaker of Tatlow Park. The case is being heard in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver with Justice Miriam Maisonville presiding.
The 77-year-old musician was found slain in his home on Dec. 10, 2021, on the city’s west side.
Crown prosecutor Colleen Smith told the court Daniel “was well-known and was liked by neighbourhood residents,” Smith said.
“He was in frail health.”
She called him a “vibrant member of the Kitsilano community” since 1970.
Smith said Daniel was stabbed 42 times and suffered 17 blunt force injuries to his head, arms and hands. Many of his injuries were from defending himself from the onslaught, Smith told Maisonville.
Under questioning from Smith on Jan. 28, White said he had no idea how several rugs and jackets wound up covering bloodied areas of Daniel’s Tatlow Park residence.
While White admitted he killed Daniel, he claimed self-defence and that he did not have the requisite intent for murder.
"Mr. White stabbed Mr. Daniel causing his death," defence lawyer Connor Doherty said.
White testified Jan. 20 that the incident began when Daniel bit his neck, leading to a confrontation in which White had a knife.
“‘I’m Iblis,’” White said Daniel told him. (Iblis is the Islamic name for Satan.)
Then, he said, Daniel retrieved a sharp throwing knife from a coffee table and threw it at White.
“He directly projected it at my face,” he said.
“I feared for my life; absolutely shocked and speechless.”
White was convicted of Daniel’s murder on May 9.
Smith said White has taken no responsibility for the offence and has minimized his actions.
Both Crown and defence made submissions on the jointly proposed sentence July 11.
Maisonville has adjourned the case to July 16.
White was brought into court in a wheelchair due to mobility issues resulting from a car accident more than a decade ago.
Who was Justis Daniel?
The Texas-born father of one was known as a talented singer and guitar player.
Daniel’s death was Vancouver’s 17th homicide of 2021.
His son and former wife read victim impact statements to the court on July 11.
Son Ameris Daniel said his father wanted to hold his eventual grandchild.
“I have no doubt if it had not been for Brent White’s actions, his wish would have been fulfilled,” Ameris Daniel said via video.
He said the family has been devastated by the loss of a kind, loving and wise “great man.”
“He would have given the shirt off his back for anyone in need,” Ameris Daniel said.
He told the court his father had a kind and generous heart and would welcome anyone in his home. One such person, Ameris Daniel said, was White.
“Losing my father has left me heartbroken,” he said. “Losing my father has left me grasping for answers I’ll never have.”
Former wife Susan Daniel, told the judge the couple came together through a love of making music and bonded deeply, despite a divorce, as they co-parented their son.
She said the loss has left a deeply painful hole in their lives.
Her former husband’s death was “brought about brutally and needlessly,” she said.
Verena Pinteric was Daniel’s partner at the time of his death.
“I miss him desperately and I have lost my life companion,” she said. “This man’s (White’s) actions have changed my life.”
Daniel had a close relationship with her son, she noted.
“We’ve lost a sense of family that we had,” she said.
Not criminally responsible
The issue of a finding of not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder has already arisen in the case.
Defence lawyer Brent Anderson said White had instructed him not to seek such a finding.
Anderson said the court was not bound by lawyers’ submissions on that issue and can make such a determination on its own.
