'I forgive no one,' grief-stricken father of murder victim tells sentencing hearing

Daryl Bishop struggles to forgive the man who shot and killed his son Alexander Bishop in Saint John more than two years ago.

At times, he feels he should forgive Zakkary Reed, 32, he said.

But he is angry and tormented.

"This was not an accident," he told Reed's sentencing hearing in Saint John Court of King's Bench on Friday.

"My son cannot be replaced."

Reed was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for at least 25 years after a jury found him guilty Jan. 30 of first-degree murder in the death of Bishop, 38.

Testifying in his own defence, Reed admitted shooting Bishop in the chest on Aug. 20, 2023, but claimed it was in self-defence.

Bishop was pronounced dead at the scene, an apartment at 170 King St. East.

Never got to say goodbye

A "precious life" has been stolen from the Bishop family, including Bishop's eight-year-old son, said Daryl Bishop.

"I struggle to prepare myself with the words to tell my grandson … where his daddy is now," he said, choking back tears, while Reed, sitting in the prisoner's box, kept his eyes downcast, showing no emotion.

There will be no father-son fishing trips for his grandson, no opportunity to have his father coach his soccer team, Bishop noted.

"I've had times when I cried myself to sleep because I was not able to tell him goodbye, that I love him," he said.

"All I can do now is take my son a large double double [coffee] to his grave while I talk to him and look at him in pictures," he said.

"I am and have been devastated by this senseless murder. For this, I forgive no one."

Justice is 'a joke,' Reed says

Before sentence was imposed, Reed stood and told the court the idea that justice was being served was "a joke."

"It's only more loss," he said, referring to his daughter "losing" her father and his parents "losing" their son, as his mother, doubled over in the front row of the courtroom, sobbed.

"A life behind bars is no life to live," Reed said. "If anything Alex got the better end of the deal," said Reed.

"So I'll  just leave the court with — victims, aren't we all."

Loss of life 'immeasurable and unbearable'

Justice Kathryn Gregory told the court that Reed, "after having texted his girlfriend of his intent to shoot Alex Bishop in the chest with a shotgun … did precisely that." He shot him at close range, while under a court order prohibiting him from possessing any firearms, she said.

The loss of a life is "immeasurable and unbearable," Gregory said.

"This explains why such a loss of life by a planned and deliberate murder justifies the maximum sentence in law," she said, referring to first-degree murder carrying an automatic life sentence with no possibility of parole for 25 years.

With credit for the time he has already spent in custody, Crown prosecutor Elaina Campbell said he will have to serve 23 years and 157 days before becoming eligible for parole.

Gregory noted Reed refused to participate in the interview process required for a pre-sentence report, so none was prepared.

She also imposed a lifetime weapons prohibition order, ordered Reed to provide a DNA sample, and to have no direct or indirect contact with members of the Bishop family.

In addition, she sentenced Reed to one year, which will be served concurrently, for being in possession of firearm while prohibited from doing so.

Trial heard from eyewitness

The jury heard from 32 witnesses during the trial, which lasted about three weeks and included several delays, most of them caused by Reed.

He was the only defence witness. 

Reed told the court that he was homeless in August 2023 and Bishop, who also didn't have a place of his own, had invited him to crash at a friend's place.

Under direct examination, Reed testified he was arguing with Bishop when Bishop stepped toward him, pointed a handgun at his face and yelled, "Let's do this." 

"I felt like he was going to shoot me," Reed told the jury. "I was scared for my life. … I didn't think I was going to make it out of there alive. So I reached down in my luggage that was there and pulled the gun … and I shot him before he could shoot me."

Hanna Graham, 24, who described Reed as her best friend and former boyfriend, witnessed the shooting. She testified that she was on acid that night and doesn't remember much. Everyone in the apartment that night was doing drugs, including meth and fentanyl, the jury heard.

Graham said she was in a back room of the apartment with Bishop when the door flew open and Reed entered. He was "about two feet away" when he immediately shot Bishop without saying anything, she said.

Graham was "trying to hold [Bishop's] chest together," but he died. "I felt his heart stop beating in my hand."

Bishop's wound measured about four by five centimetres and resulted in "significant" blood loss, according to the pathologist who conducted the autopsy.

Police responded to a 911 call shortly after 5:30 a.m. 

Reed was arrested within four hours. Members of the Saint John Police Force's emergency tactical services team pulled over a cab that Reed was riding in.

Swabs taken from Reed's hands tested positive for gunshot residue.

Reed's DNA was found in several places on a sawed-off shotgun that police recovered in an alley behind the apartment building, including the trigger, trigger guard and hammer, the jury heard.

A hoodie that tested positive for Reed's DNA also tested positive for Bishop's blood.

In his statement to police, Reed changed his story several times, the jury heard.

At first, Reed denied even knowing the victim and said he wasn't anywhere near the crime scene at the time of the shooting.

Eventually, he told lead investigator Det. Const. Duane Squires that he was there and that Bishop pointed a gun at him, but he repeatedly denied that he shot him or that he even had a weapon.