Treyvonne Willis guilty of 1st-degree murder in Kaila Tran's death
Tran was fatally stabbed outside St. Vital apartment in June 2012
Treyvonne Willis has been sentenced to life in prison after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Kaila Tran outside her Winnipeg apartment building in 2012.
"As sad as I am for your family, I impose the sentence with no hesitation, knowing justice has been done," Joyal told Willis in court.
Willis sat emotionless in the prisoner's box as the jury announced its verdict. When asked if he had anything to say before he was sentenced, he replied, "No, not right now."
The jury began deliberating in Willis's case on Thursday.
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Tran, 26, was stabbed dozens of times in the parking lot outside her St. Vital apartment block in broad daylight on June 20, 2012.
The Crown said Willis killed Tran to pay off a drug debt.
'My friend was taken that day,' says stepdad
Court heard victim impact statements from Tran's stepfather and two sisters, who described the pain they have felt since she died.
"I admired her, I respected her. I'm proud to be her dad for the short time she was here," Robert Fawley told court, adding that his stepdaughter volunteered for 100 hours a week.
My family is no longer whole. No one's happy. All we're doing is waiting for our time to die.- Sabrina Anger-Fawley
Fawley said the last time he saw Tran — about 30 hours before she died — he hugged her and told her he loved her.
"This world without Kaila is more than just my daughter being gone. My friend was taken that day," he said in court.
In a statement read aloud by the Crown, Tiffany Tran described arriving at the hospital after Kaila was stabbed and being told her sister had died. She then had to break the news to her father, who was dying in hospital.
Tiffany Tran said she has been looking over her shoulder and living in fear since Kaila's death.
Another sister, Sabrina Anger-Fawley, said in her victim impact statement that she's been suffering from physical and emotional pain since Kaila's death.
"Life has changed since this crime," she said. "My family is no longer whole. No one's happy. All we're doing is waiting for our time to die."
First-degree murder charges were stayed last year against Drake David Mosleneko, Tran's former boyfriend, who had earlier been accused of arranging for Willis to kill Tran.