A former North Vancouver mother wept in the courtroom Monday as a man who stabbed her son to death was sentenced to spend less than two more years in jail.
Outside the court, Barbara Stevenson said she was shocked and upset at the sentence.
“I don’t think it’s enough. I really think it’s a slap in the face,” she said. “I’m surprised they gave out such a low sentence for killing a person.”
Stevenson and other North Vancouver family members were in Vancouver provincial court Monday morning as Judge Joseph Galati handed a sentence of four years and six months in jail to 23-year-old Jesse Evan Ali Sellam of Burnaby who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of Stevenson’s son James Enright.
Because Sellam has already spent close to two years in custody, his remaining sentence will be about 22 months in prison.
Enright, who grew up in North Vancouver, died after he was stabbed in the heart by Sellam on Feb. 15, 2015 after coming to the aid of a friend at the Edmonds SkyTrain station.
Court heard that Enright did not know Sellam and was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
According to an agreed statement of facts presented by Crown and defence lawyers, on the night before the stabbing, Sellam had been drinking with friends including then-18-year-old Taitusi Funaki Vikilani. By the time the pair reached the Edmonds SkyTrain station, Vikilani, who was very drunk, had started behaving aggressively and was yelling racial slurs at three black men.
Around that time, Enright and a female friend drove up to the SkyTrain station in her car. Enright’s friend became concerned about the interaction between Vikilani and the three men in the station and began filming what was happening on her cell phone.
Vikilani saw her, and came over to the car, at which point the woman yelled that he was attacking her through the car’s open window, court heard.
In response, Enright got out of the car to pull Vikilani away from the woman. That was when Sellam ran over and stabbed Enright in the chest with a folding knife he was carrying, puncturing his heart.
The entire interaction took fewer than four seconds, said Galati.
In handing down his sentence, Galati said he accepted that Sellam had not intended to kill Enright and that his actions were impulsive. That does not excuse his actions, the judge said. “He consciously made a decision to do what he did.”
He added if Sellam had not been carrying the knife – a gift from his girlfriend – the outcome of the night may have been much different.
Galati said he took into the account the victim impact statements read by “heartbroken” members of Enright’s family.
“A mother should never have to deal with the pain of burying her own child,” he said, adding Sellam’s actions “cannot be undone.”
Galati said he also had to consider Sellam’s lack of prior criminal record and the remorse he had expressed.
Outside the court, Barbara Enright said she didn’t think Sellam was truly sorry.
Enright said her son’s whole family has been “devastated” by his death. Hundreds of his friends and former high school teachers from Sutherland secondary came to his memorial service, she said. “James was a great guy and he did not deserve this.”
Vikilani also faces charges of manslaughter and assault in connection with the incident. His case is currently set for trial.
