THUNDER BAY — Glenn Allen, who witnessed his son Jesse Allen stab his younger brother, Wayne Allen, to death inside his home, said he will never forgive him for what he called a cowardly act.
“The moment is here, this is where you pay for what you did to Wayne, what you did to this family, what you’ve done to your own children, your mother, your own sister,” Glenn Allen said in a victim impact statement.
“Such a cowardly act. For what you did to Wayne and his family, I will never forgive you. Only when you die will your real punishment start.”
Jesse Allen, 40, appeared before Justice Danial Newton in a Thunder Bay courtroom on Wednesday for a sentencing submission hearing.
In May, a jury found Allen guilty of second-degree murder following a six-day trial, agreeing with the Crown that he intended to kill his 18-year-old brother, Wayne Allen, when he stabbed him twice in the chest.
The unprovoked attack took place in Glenn Allen’s Manitouwadge home the afternoon Jan. 30, 2021 while he was present. According to evidence presented at trial, after the attack, Jesse Allen was heard to say: ‘How do you like that dad, two birds with one stone,’ and kept repeating: ‘I want my house back.’
During the sentencing hearing the court heard eight victim impact statements from members of Wayne Allen’s family, including his siblings, mother, and father.
“I have lost part of me because of what you have done,” said Stacey Charette, Wayne Allen’s mother. “The relationship that I was building with Wayne over four years was demolished because of your actions.”
Charette added that she continues to struggle with the loss of Wayne and she continues to live in fear for her own safety and that of her children.
“Every day I fear him getting out and coming after me or my children,” she said. “If he can do this to his own flesh and blood why not to the person who created this child. Or even worse, coming after the siblings of Wayne.”
Wayne Allen’s siblings expressed the many mental, physical, and emotional challenges they now face in dealing with the loss of their brother.
“I’m sorry for living so far away all those other years,” said Wayne Allen’s sister, Amber Bassett. “I am the most sorry for not protecting you from our brother. I never knew you were in danger.”
Glenn Allen, who gave emotional testimony during the trial, did not hold back in his victim impact statement read out to the court.
“You selfish bastard. I wish you were a bastard and not a part of me. I hate you. I hate what you’ve done to this family,” the statement reads. “Whatever sentence you receive from this court will never be severe enough, never be what you really deserve. I hate you forever.”
A conviction of second-degree murder carries with it an automatic life-sentence with parole ineligibility ranging from 10 to 25 years.
Crown attorney Katrina Van Kessel is asking the court to impose a period of parole ineligibility for a period of 18 years, highlighting what she said was the most significant aggravating factor in this case.
“In committing the offence, Jesse Allen breached the trust he shared with his father, his brother, and his family,” Van Kessel said.
Van Kessel described Jesse Allen’s relationship with his father, Glenn Allen, as dysfunctional and killing Wayne Allen in front of him was a way to inflict harm upon him, with Wayne as a “truly innocent victim” in the matter.
“[Wayne] had everything to look forward to,” she said. “That is who Wayne Allen was and that is who was lost on Jan. 30, 2021.”
According to a pre-sentence report, Jesse Allen said he was hallucinating at the time of the attack. But Van Kessel said that assertion should be rejected because it undermines the verdict of the jury.
“I do also want to highlight post-offence conduct,” Van Kessel said. “I would describe that erratic, approximately five minutes of behaviour, as a self-serving display to try to explain away what happened and now he is doing it in the pre-sentence report.”
Van Kessel also referenced the Courtney LaBelle case, which saw her sentenced to 15 years of parole ineligibility after being found guilty of second-degree murder for stabbing her 11-year-old son 31 times in 2020.
“If there is anything to be taken way from LaBelle is there are a number of similar aggravating factors,” she said. “Wayne was also conscious, that it was witnessed by others in the home, the murder was brutal, and the affect it had on the family and first responders.”
Defence counsel George Joseph is asking the period of parole ineligibility be 10 years or closer to the lower end of the range.
Joseph highlighted that Jesse Allen never denied stabbing his brother but noted the triable issue was whether or not he had the intent to kill him.
“The position of the defence is it is a 10-year or something close to that, taking into account that his remorse is characterized in the pre-sentence report,” Joseph said. “I think it’s genuine. I also want to be mindful of that fact that the only issue at the trial was the intent issue. It was a triable issue that didn’t go the way of the defence.”
Joseph also took issue with the Crown’s assertion that Wayne Allen’s death was an effort by Jesse Allen to inflict harm on their father.
“It was a problematic relationship but the evidence doesn’t go so far as to explain it as a slight against Glenn Allen,” Joseph said.
With respect to the LaBelle case, Joseph pointed out that the presiding judge found the Crown’s recommendation of 18-years parole ineligibility to be excessive.
“Ms. LaBelle stabbed her 11-year-old son 31 times, 10 wounds were defensive,” Joseph said. “Ms. LaBelle expressed no remorse for the offence. Justice Fregeau considered the 18-year parole ineligibility excessive.”
Of the 12-person jury, six recommended a period of 10 years parole ineligibility and while Joseph acknowledged the court is not bound by the jury recommendations, he said it is another factor for Newton to consider.
Jesse Allen was given an opportunity to address the court and he spoke for nearly 40 minutes. While he is not of Indigenous heritage, Allen said he has started to embrace healing and reconciliation found in Indigenous culture.
Allen said he was not going to defend or object to anything said during the trial and that he is not asking anyone to forgive him but he hopes everyone can find healing.
“I’m not trying to make an excuse for what happened on that day. But what I am trying to do is say sorry for that day. If I could do one thing in life over again, it would be to ignore that phone call that day and pack my stuff like I planned and leave town to go fishing,” Jesse Allen told the court.
“But I can’t do that. So I would like to apologize to my family for what I’ve done. I would like to apologize to Wayne’s family for what I’ve done.”
Allen added that he had never raised a hand to his own children but that he did to his brother that day and that he killed him.
“To think of the pain I am causing them is something I struggle with to understand,” he said.
The matter will return in September to set a date for Newton’s decision on sentence.