Samwillie Grey stabbed ex-girlfriend 14 times

KUUJJUAQ – Convicted killer Samwillie Grey sobbed and laid his head down as he sat in the prisoner's box May 30 after hearing a seven-woman, five-man jury announce a verdict of first-degree murder in the bloody stabbing death of Kitty Thomassie two years ago in Kangirsuk.

Following the verdict, guards led Grey out of the courtroom to a back room to await sentencing, where his sobs were joined by the keening of his family members in the courtroom.

Quebec Superior Court Judge Jacques Viens sentenced Grey, 30, to a mandatory term of life in prison, with no chance of parole for 25 years.

This means that even if the National Parole Board decides to give him credit for the two and a half years he's spent in jail awaiting trial, Grey won't be eligible to seek parole until at least 2028. Otherwise, he'll stay behind bars until at least 2032.

Viens imposed a lifetime firearms ban and ordered Grey to submit a DNA sample to authorities.

After hearing two and half week's worth of testimony, the jury reached their verdict after deliberating for only 90 minutes. This is the first first-degree murder verdict ever produced by a jury in Nunavik.

Thomassie, 35, died Feb. 5, 2005 in Kangirsuk, from 14 stab wounds.

A forensic expert who gave evidence at the trial said Thomassie was stabbed eight times on her upper chest, as well as in the abdomen and back.

Although she had been beaten previously, Thomassie died from a fatal stab wound through her aorta, near the heart. Two of the wounds were inflicted after her death.

Viens did not instruct the jury to bring in a not-guilty plea as a possible verdict, because Grey admitted to the killing during his testimony, telling the court "I saw that I killed her."

But their verdict of first-degree murder, rather than second-degree murder or manslaughter, reveals they rejected the defence argument that Grey was too drunk to know what he was doing, and it suggests they were persuaded that Grey intended to kill Thomassie.

During the trial, jurors heard that a call came in to the police in Kangirsuk about 3 a.m., Feb. 5., 2005, saying a nude woman lay on a mattress outside a residence.

Her body had to be left for 36 hours where it was found behind her home until investigators from the Sûreté du Québec detachment in Rouyn-Noranda were able to fly in.

Following the SQ's investigation, Grey, then 28, was taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder.

Jurors did not hear about Grey's long history of domestic violence against Thomassie and his lengthy criminal record. The judge determined this information might prejudice the jury's consideration of the evidence presented during the trial.

The defence argued Grey was extremely intoxicated and did not intend to kill Thomassie, with whom he had recently split up.

The prosecution said Grey may have been drunk earlier that night, but argued successfully that by the time the violence escalated into murder, he had sobered up.

Grey admitted drinking 15 beers and some rum and to smoking marijuana earlier in the evening of Feb. 4.

Evidence presented in court shows that Grey beat up Thomassie's mother, causing the elderly woman to flee with Thomassie's young daughter.

At about 2 a.m. he turned on his ex-girlfriend with a kitchen knife.

Grey told the court he came out of his blacked-out state only when friends discovered him lying outside on a mattress with his arm around Thomassie's naked, lifeless body.

A sexual assault may also have occurred during the violent encounter between Grey and Thomassie. Samples taken from Thomassie's vagina showed some sperm that matched Grey's. However, the samples were unable reveal exactly when the two had sexual relations.

The amount of the sperm found was typical of that which occurs when a condom breaks or leaks.

A condom, spotted by the mattress by the first witnesses to arrive at the scene, was not recovered by the time the SQ arrived to investigate Thomassie's death.

The condom may have blown away in the stormy weather before investigators arrived on the scene, the prosecution suggested.

Grey said he was so intoxicated that it was only when he woke up that he realized he had killed her.

But the prosecution called witnesses who said they saw Grey about 4 am, when he had left Thomassie's home to go to his mother's house. There, witnesses saw him covered in blood and they told the court that he did not seem to be drunk at the time.

Witnesses for the defense provided varying versions about Grey's alleged state of intoxication before he headed over to Thomassie's home at about 2 am, said Paul Crépeau, the Crown prosecutor.

Although the murder took place in Kangirsuk, the trial was held in Kuujjuaq because jury trials may only be held in Kuujjuraapik, Puvirnituq and Kuujjuaq, where there are fully-equipped courthouses.