Parole eligibility set for Tofino, B.C., ‘stabbing frenzy’ murder

Warning: This story contains details readers may find disturbing

A B.C. man will spend life in prison without possibility of parole for 10 years, the minimum ineligibility period, after being convicted of stabbing his victim dozens of times during a dispute over payment for cocaine.

Luke Anthony Sean Priddle was convicted by a jury of the second-degree murder of Mathew Phillips, as well as robbery and theft of a motor vehicle, which all took place Dec. 28, 2020, in Tofino. Justice Catherine Wedge handed down her sentence in B.C. Supreme Court on Sept. 22, 2025, and her reasoning was published online recently.

Priddle was 23 years old at the time of the murder and been using cocaine extensively after his work hours at Tofino restaurants were greatly reduced due to the pandemic, “which culminated in the events which led to the tragic killing of Mathew Phillips,” the court heard.

Wedge said Phillips’ family’s victim impact statements “compellingly attest to the magnitude of their loss” and the “immeasurable” pain in losing a son, uncle and friend.

‘Stabbing frenzy’

During a period of “partying, drinking alcohol and using cocaine and other drugs” over the Christmas holidays, Priddle met up with Phillips via the dating app Grindr the night of Dec. 27.

“The two men met twice, once early in the evening when they engaged in sexual activity at Mr. Phillips’ apartment, and again some hours later when Mr. Phillips invited Mr. Priddle to once again come to his apartment to have sex and consume cocaine,” the decision reads.

During their second meeting, Phillips asked Priddle to pay for some of the cocaine they had used. According to the decision, Priddle agreed to pay $300 but did not have the full amount and only transferred “a fraction” before attempting to leave the apartment.

“Mr. Phillips discovered the shortfall and told him he must either pay the $300 or leave his watch or phone as collateral until he could pay the full amount. Mr. Priddle refused and attempted to leave the apartment. At that point, a struggle ensued between the two men,” the decision reads.

Priddle testified on his own behalf at trial and told the court he had a knife he always carried with him, and that Phillips attempted to take it.

“They fell to the floor, where Mr. Priddle attempted to put Mr. Phillips in a chokehold. At some point in the struggle, Mr. Priddle began slashing at Mr. Phillips with the knife,” the decision reads.

“He stabbed Mr. Phillips repeatedly during the struggle. He must have engaged in a stabbing frenzy with the knife because the pathologist who performed the autopsy on Mr. Phillips reported a total of 74 stab wounds inflicted on Mr. Phillips’ head and neck.”

The pathologist told the court one neck wound that severed Phillips’ carotid artery and jugular vein likely caused him to die “almost instantaneously” and most of the other dozens of wounds were delivered after he died.

“Mr. Priddle realized immediately that he had killed Mr. Phillips. There was no mistaking the fact that Mr. Phillips was dead,” the decision reads.

Following the killing, the court heard Priddle went to the washroom to clean the blood off him, consumed “some lines” of cocaine, found Phillips’ car keys and drove away from the scene in his car with a box of his cash and cocaine.

He spent the next two days in a drug-and-alcohol binge, during which Priddle testified he left Tofino for Nanaimo with a friend, and stopped at Phillips’ apartment on the way. There, the court heard, Priddle piled garbage on the stove and turned on the burners in an effort to set fire to the apartment with Phillips’ body still inside.

Priddle’s mother at some point asked for police to conduct a wellness check on him, and when they eventually found him in Nanaimo, “Mr. Priddle told the police where Mr. Phillips was and what had occurred,” the decision reads.

“When the police entered Mr. Phillips’ apartment, it was extremely hot and covered in soot and ash. They found Mr. Phillips’ body now compromised by the heat and passage of time on the floor by the door.”

‘This case is quite unusual’

Priddle was arrested and released without charges on Jan. 1, 2021. He immediately entered a treatment program and for almost two years following the murder, remained uncharged, living and working in Tofino and staying sober.

He was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in December 2022, and was out on bail for another two-and-a-half years until the trial in April 2025. During that time, according to Wedge, he continued working full time and complied with conditions.

Wedge said roughly two-dozen reference letters from Priddle’s friends and co-workers speak to “the good character, indeed the excellent character of Mr. Priddle in his dealings with them and the community.”

In deciding whether to set parole eligibility at the 10-year minimum—as Priddle’s counsel argued for—or 15 years as Crown suggested, Wedge noted “this case is quite unusual,” because in the time before Priddle was charged and while he was on bail, he “continued working and contributing to his community,” demonstrating rehabilitation.

On the other hand, she acknowledged “without question, this was a horrific crime.”

The judge said the circumstances were mitigated by the facts that the killing was not planned or premeditated, Priddle was young and had no criminal record, and he was “very remorseful.”

“Mr. Priddle, having consumed a great deal of cocaine, was disinhibited to the extent that he behaved in a manner completely foreign to him, both before and after this terrible event. There is no pattern of such behaviour, not even an instance of his having lost his temper at a friend or co‑worker prior to this time,” Wedge said.

Priddle was thus sentenced to life in prison, and he will be available to apply for parole after 10 years. He was sentenced to 24 months for the robbery and six months for the vehicle theft, to be served at the same time as the murder sentence.