NEWS FILE PHOTO
A member of the Medicine Hat Police Service's Forensic Unit investigates the death of John Holmes on June 18, 2016. Barbara Holmes, the victim's wife, was was sentenced to five years on Aug. 13, 2018.
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Barbara Holmes pled guilty to manslaughter after stabbing her husband to death in 2016 with a kitchen knife.
“The assault happened quickly and can only be described as a frenzy,” said the Crown prosecutor Monday while reading the agreed statement of facts into court, as the accused and victim’s family listened, and Holmes herself sat listening and looking downwards
The plea came on what was originally set to be the start of a two-week Court of Queen’s Bench trial by judge and jury on the charge of second-degree murder.
“Ms. Holmes was charged with second-degree murder, and second-degree murder has certain elements we need to prove,” Chief Crown Prosecutor Ramona Robins told the News about the decision to agree to the manslaughter plea. This includes having to prove beyond a reasonable doubt — to all 12 jurors — that there was an intent to cause death.
“In manslaughter, the intention is not required. A death is required. An unlawful act is required like assaulting someone, but the intention to kill is not required,” said Robins.
In the lead up to trial, the Crown is constantly reviewing the evidence and charges, and evaluating whether there is a reasonable likelihood of conviction, public interest, said Robins. The manslaughter plea fit better with the facts as the Crown knew them, she said.
“Here the Crown’s main interest has been the accountability, and she’s accepted responsibility which has been a huge step,” she said.
Sentencing ranges for manslaughter can be as low as probation to a lengthy penitentiary sentence, she said, depending on where it falls.
“Our position is it’s on the near homicide side of this equation, it’s not accidental,” she said.
Crown and prosecution have agreed on a joint sentencing range of five to eight years, although sentencing has been adjourned until June 15 for pre-sentencing reports to be put together for consideration.
Entered into evidence Monday was an agreed statement of facts outlining events surrounding John Holmes’ death on June 18, 2016.
This included an ongoing dispute between the couple, stemming from a “one-time sexual liaison” that John had with a friend of Barbara’s in Nov. 2015. John told Barbara about the affair in December, and it caused a “serious strain” on their relationship. John apologized for the affair on many occasions. Barbara also expressed concerns about John’s level of drinking on many occasions.
On the evening of June 18, Holmes’ daughter was visiting her parents who were both drinking. She did not notice any animosity between the two and the mood was good. While the affair did come up, the daughter told them to stop and talk about other topics which they did. Around midnight, the daughter returned to her residence next door.
The couple began to argue and this argument escalated. Barbara grabbed a large kitchen knife with a blade measuring 20 centimetres long and 4.5 cm at the base. She stabbed John repeatedly in the back, and once he fell to the ground, she stabbed him in the right arm and leg a number of times.
In total, John was stabbed 17 times. The wounds ranged from being just under a centimetre up to 40 cm in depth, with the knife hitting his lungs, diaphragm, kidney, iliac artery, bladder, and fracturing ribs. The coroner’s report stated he died from blood loss due to the stab wounds, while a toxicology report found he was extremely intoxicated.
The court heard how the daughter received a message from her mother right after the stabbing, saying she had just killed John. The daughter went next door and found her father lying in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor.
Barbara told her daughter she had killed John, and then asked her to help hide the body. Instead, the daughter called 911. At this point, John was unconscious but still alive.
First responders arrived at the scene and attempted to resuscitate John. They moved John to the living room floor to treat him better — but had difficulty moving him as he initially stuck to the floor due to the congealing blood. They were able to get a pulse again, but realized that the amount he was bleeding could not be coming from just his wrists.
In turning him over they discovered the stab wounds on his back. John was transported to hospital, but never regained consciousness and died the same day.,
At the scene and police station, Barbara denied that she had stabbed John — telling police she hadn’t been in the room with him and had heard screams. She blamed the husband of the woman which John was having an affair with, and then also the woman. Evidence gathered at the scene found there was a minor attempt to clean up the blood.
The knife used was found underneath the bed in the master bedroom.
