Relaxing with friends inside a North End apartment, Creedence Justin Beardy likely had no idea why an armed intruder set upon him in a violent knife attack that claimed his life, a judge said Monday.
“He did nothing wrong… he was minding his own business and not causing any harm to anyone,” said King’s Bench Justice Herbert Rempel before sentencing Beardy’s killer, 23-year-old Tracayne Marsden, to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years.
Marsden previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in what court heard was a jealousy-fuelled killing. According to an agreed statement of facts provided to court, the October 2022 attack occurred just days after Beardy struck up a flirtation with Marsden’s then-girlfriend, who Marsden believed was pregnant with his child.
Beardy, 27, was from Garden Hill First Nation and had relocated to Winnipeg for medical treatment prior to the killing, Crown attorney Martyn Langstaff told court.
Beardy’s parents, who were present in court, “hoped he would leave Winnipeg because they were fearful for his safety,” Langstaff said. “This incident was their worst nightmare come true.”
Court heard Beardy sent Marsden’s girlfriend flirtatious messages two days before the killing, asking if she wanted to “hang out.”
Beardy and the woman were socializing at a female friend’s Kate Street apartment in the early morning hours of Oct. 1 when Marsden rushed through the apartment door, saw Beardy and became immediately enraged.
Marsden punched Beardy several times before pulling out a knife and stabbing him seven times in the upper body.
Marsden’s girlfriend pulled the two men apart, opened the front door and told Beardy to run before hiding in a bedroom with her friend. When the women exited the bedroom a half-hour later, Marsden was gone.
Beardy walked several blocks before collapsing near the intersection of Cumberland Avenue and Sherbrook Street, where a passerby found him unconscious and called 911.
Marsden wasn’t arrested until Oct. 14, 10 days after his girlfriend’s mother called 911 to complain that Marsden had been visiting their apartment.
“That guy that killed that person there on Kate Street is back at my place,” she told 911. “I don’t know why you guys can’t arrest him.”
Interviewed by police, Marsden quickly admitted his involvement, saying he attacked Beardy “out of jealousy,” and “did not intend to kill Beardy, only to hurt him.”
Marsden has a family history of residential school involvement, was raised in poverty by his grandmother, has only a Grade 4 education, and shows signs of having fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, defence lawyer Bradley Erratt told court. Marsden was “effectively homeless” from the ages of 19 to 21, during which time he became addicted to methamphetamine.
“Intergenerational trauma has affected every single facet of this young man’s life,” Erratt said.
The minimum sentence for second-degree murder is life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years. Rempel agreed to a joint recommendation by Crown and defence lawyers that Marsden be sentenced to the minimum period of parole ineligibility.
Marsden’s upbringing and personal challenges left him with “no real prospects” to succeed, Rempel said.
“It’s hard to imagine a life as difficult as the one Mr. Marsden had,” Rempel said. “After 13 years on the bench, it is still shocking to me that Indigenous people have to suffer these kinds of circumstances in their day-to-day lives.”
At the time he was arrested for murder, Marsden was on bail after being charged with assaulting a Winnipeg Transit driver with bear spray.
He was granted bail May 4, 2022, following a hearing before provincial court Judge Brian Corrin and ordered to reside at the Behavioural Health Foundation treatment centre in St. Norbert.
Court records show he was charged with absconding from the treatment centre July 18, 2022, less than three months before the killing.
Marsden was granted bail the previous March on charges involving the thefts of thousands of dollars in merchandise from two city clothing stores while armed with a machete, but remained in custody for the alleged assault on the bus driver.
The Crown opposed Marsden’s release on the assault charge, arguing he had a lengthy history of disobeying court orders.
“I know he is going to be proposing release to a residential treatment program, but that doesn’t matter if he isn’t going to follow it,” Joel Myskiw said. Marsden “poses a real and present danger to members of the public.”
Marsden pleaded guilty in March 2022 to assaulting the bus driver with a weapon and was sentenced to nine months in jail.
dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca
Dean Pritchard
Courts reporter
Someone once said a journalist is just a reporter in a good suit. Dean Pritchard doesn’t own a good suit. But he knows a good lawsuit.