‘I am ashamed of my conduct’: B.C. military vet, 86, apologizes for killing his long-time neighbours

Valerie Smith and John Kavaloff, who were killed in 2023 in Chilliwack, are shown in this submitted photo.

An 86-year-old man who shot and killed his long-time neighbours in Chilliwack, B.C.–in what’s been described as a dispute over noise—has apologized to the family and friends of his victims.

Robert Freeman, who served 35 years in the Canadian military, had his lawyer read his apology, explaining, “I can’t express what I really feel in my state. I’m very tired and I’m not stable.”

In the statement of apology, he wrote: “I know that nothing I say here can undo the harm and pain and loss that I have caused.”

“I am ashamed of my conduct, and I can never forgive myself for what I have done.”

He said his victims were “two very good people.”

“Every day of my life is now miserable, but I recognize that this is nothing compared to what I have caused so many others to suffer and the terrible loss of two good people’s lives,” the statement reads.

Freeman, a great grandfather, had been neighbours with John Kavaloff and Valerie Smith for more than a decade at a mobile home park in Chilliwack.

But on Sept. 13, 2023, Freeman, carrying a rifle, walked next door to where Kavaloff, 58, was speaking with a friend in the driveway.

Words were exchanged and Freeman shot Kavaloff in the chest. A second bullet hit Smith, 67, who was Kavaloff’s partner. She was found by police dead inside her home.

Freeman pleaded guilty earlier this month to second-degree murder and manslaughter on the day his trial was expected to start.

The sentence for second-degree murder is life in prison. Crown is asking that parole eligibility for Freeman be set at 12 years, saying aggravating factors include the use of a firearm and the impact on the victims’ family and the community.

Freeman’s bail was revoked after pleading guilty. He entered court Friday morning in red prison sweats, with his feet in shackles.

The sentencing hearing is ongoing.