At sentencing hearing, family reads emotional victim impact statements about beloved park caretaker

Mourning family and friends gathered for the sentencing of the man who took the life of a beloved, Kitsilano park caretaker in 2021.

There were tears in a downtown Vancouver courtroom on Friday, as family and friends of a Kitsilano murder victim gathered for the sentencing hearing of the man who killed him.

Justis Daniel, 77, served as the caretaker at Tatlow Park, where he lived in a small cottage until his violent death on Dec. 9, 2021.

The homicide investigation that followed led police to 51-year-old Brent White, who was arrested in March of 2022 and eventually charged with second-degree murder.

In May, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Miriam Maisonville found White guilty.

• Read more: Man found guilty in 2021 murder of longtime Vancouver park caretaker

In its case, the Crown said Daniel had invited White into his home for a visit.

The two had been friendly acquaintances for a few years, ever since White helped Daniel create a website to showcase his art and poetry.

While in the cottage that day, White attacked Daniel with a knife, leaving him with more than 40 stab and slash wounds – many of them defensive in nature.

The victim also had several fractures in his face and a broken vertebrae.

In the camper van where White lived, Vancouver police detectives found shoes and a knife stained with Daniel’s blood.

Testifying in his own defence, White didn’t deny inflicting the wounds, but claimed Daniel attacked him first and he acted in self-defence.

The judge didn’t believe that argument – noting Daniel had very serious prostate cancer and weighed just 139 pounds.

“The court found that even if Mr. White’s account was accepted, which it was not, beyond reasonable doubt, the acts in question could not have constituted self-defence,” Crown prosecutor Colleen Smith said at the sentencing hearing.

Amaris Daniel, the victim’s only child, appeared by video link to provide one of three victim impact statements.

He said his father taught him kindness and empathy through his words and deeds.

“His generosity and kind heart welcomed many in need into his home,” Daniel said about his father. “I’m haunted by the fact that his kindness was betrayed in such a devastating way.”

Second-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence with no parole eligibility for a period of 10 to 25 years.

In a joint submission, the Crown and defence asked the judge to set parole eligibility at 12 years.

White will have to wait to learn his fate as the judge has reserved her sentencing decision until July 16.