A man charged in the fatal stabbing of an Edmonton man in a road rage incident in 2024 has been sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison for manslaughter. The sentence was part of a joint submission by the Crown and defence. Cody Lyle, 35, was fatally stabbed on Feb. 5, 2024. Jayden Cody Francis Cardinal, 32, was arrested the next day and charged with second-degree murder. Police said the two men did not know each other, but Cardinal was known to them. According to the agreed statement of facts, Cardinal had consumed 13 oz of vodka before taking his young nephew to pick up his daughter from nearby Abbott Elementary School. Cardinal and the two children were walking home from the school, when Lyle drove by in his pickup. According to the documents, Cardinal felt that Lyle was driving in an unsafe manner, and approached him after Lyle parked his truck on the street outside his house. The two men argued, and the agreed statement of facts says Cardinal told Lyle he would come back to slash his tires and break the windows in his truck. Lyle also reported that Cardinal said he would have beaten him up if the children hadn’t been present, but Cardinal said he did not recall making that statement because of the alcohol he had consumed. After the argument, Lyle took a photo of Cardinal and the two children on his phone. The court documents show Cardinal took the two children home and then came back 45 minutes later and punctured Lyle’s tire with a knife. Lyle, who was shoveling snow, spotted Cardinal, who ran from the scene. He gave chase while carrying the snow shovel he had been using. Lyle caught up to Cardinal in a back alley and swung the shovel at him. The two men struggled over the snow shovel, Cardinal pulled a knife out of his pocket and swung it at Lyle, slashing his hand, before stabbing him in the abdomen. Cardinal ran from the scene and Lyle walked back to his home, where he called 911. The incident was captured on a neighbour’s surveillance camera. When emergency crews responded to Lyle’s house, he told them that he had been stabbed after an argument with a man. He said he had taken a photo of the man and the children he was with, and showed the photo to police. Lyle was taken to hospital, where he died that afternoon. According to the court documents, Cardinal sent a series of text messages to his girlfriend after the stabbing, admitting to the crime. “I stabbed a dude in the chest twice,” one message depicted in the court documents says. “I’m done, my finger prints are in the system.” Edmonton Police Service officers took the photo taken by Lyle to Abbott Elementary, and staff at the school identified the children, as well as the girl’s father, Jayden Cardinal, leading to his arrest. According to the agreed statement of facts, Cardinal admitted to being the man in the photo during an interview with an EPS detective. On Friday, Lyle’s family and friends packed the courtroom for a sentencing hearing for Cardinal. More than 30 victim impact statements were read, many through tears, as Cardinal sat next to his lawyer with his head down. Lyle was described as a kind and happy man. His girlfriend described the lasting impacts his death has had on her life. His mother, who was working at the St. Paul RCMP detachment on the day of her son’s death, described getting the news from a good friend and colleague. She says she hasn’t been able to return to work. “Cody was and always will be an amazing, funny, loving son, every day is empty to me,” she said. Cardinal was given the chance to address the court after the victim impact statements were read. He got up and apologized to Lyle’s family. “I do deeply regret that day,” he said. “I never meant to take his life.” “I hope that all you guys can one day hopefully forgive me.” There is no minimum sentence for manslaughter in Canada. With time served, Cardinal has five years left on his sentence. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Amanda Anderson
