By Taylor MacPherson

Man who attacked former lover gets 10 years

May 23, 2017 | 5:00 PM

A man who attacked his former partner with a knife after finding her in bed with another man was sentenced to 10 years in prison this morning by a Prince Albert judge.

Matthew Warren Levallee, 27, initially pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, but at his trial the prosecution proved he had the intent to kill. He was found guilty of attempted murder.

The court heard Levallee attacked the mother of his children with a folding knife after walking in on her and another man on Feb. 27, 2016 at her Weyakwin home. Crown Prosecutor Cynthia Alexander said the 14 separate stab wounds inflicted by Levallee left his victim with extensive facial scarring and total loss of sight in one eye. The victim required multiple surgeries and extensive treatment after the attack, and still uses a cane to help her walk.

“It has been a difficult and frustrating year for her,” Alexander said, noting the victim’s statement described the significant emotional and financial hardships she has suffered since the attack.

Alexander also questioned Levallee’s remorse for the crime, noting he showed a “lack of emotion” throughout the trial. The Crown, she said, was seeking a prison sentence of 15 years.

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Levallee’s lawyer Pab Chetty argued a sentence for attempted murder should not be higher than one for manslaughter, and urged Provincial Court Judge Steven Schiefner to consider rehabilitation over punishment.

“He’s a young man,” Chetty said. “Rehabilitation should be paramount in any sentencing.”

Chetty noted Levallee had no record of violence before or since the February 2016 incident, and said his client suffered a momentary mental breakdown when he walked in on his former partner and another man.

“On this particular day he became unhinged,” Chetty said.

Schiefner noted the seriousness of an attempted murder charge as well as the vicious and prolonged nature of the attack as he sentenced Levallee to spend the next 10 years in a federal institution.

“You avoided a charge of murder…because of good fortune. Because of medical care,” Schiefner said.

Levallee, who had dabbed at his eyes with a tissue during his sentencing, took the opportunity to speak before the sentence was handed down.

“I am sorry for hurting the people that I love the most,” he said. “I am full of regret.”

Levallee, standing in the gallery flanked by his mother and father, said he cannot forgive himself, and will always be haunted by the memory of what he did. Following the sentencing Levallee hugged his parents and was led out of the courtroom by a Deputy Sheriff.

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TMacPhersonNews