A Prince George man has been sentenced to life in prison without eligibility for parole for 12 years for the "barbaric" slaying of an apparent rival for his wife's affections on the night she had told him their marriage was over.
David Brayden McLeod, 27, was issued the term Wednesday for the second-degree murder of Jacob Larsen during the early morning of April 10, 2021. Larsen was 22 years old at the time of his death.
McLeod was also sentenced to concurrent terms of seven and five years on two counts of aggravated assault stemming from attacks on his wife, Hope McLeod (nee Lee), and a mutual friend, Reed Jackson.
In issuing the term, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Jasvinder Basran confirmed a joint submission from Crown and defence counsels, reached after McLeod pleaded guilty to the offences on the first day of trial in February.
During submissions Tuesday, McLeod was described as being in emotional turmoil on the night in question, but Basran expressed little if any sympathy for his behaviour.
"Mr. McLeod's actions involved stalking, surprise attacks on his victims followed by unrestrained violence that resulted in Mr. Larsen's death, serious and ongoing injuries to Mr. Jackson and ongoing fear and trauma suffered by Ms. McLeod," Basran said.
However, Basran found the joint submission fell within the range of sentences issued for similar cases and would not bring the justice system into disrepute.
The McLeods married when he was 19 and she was 16 years old. Over time, the marriage began to fray and on the night in question, Hope told David it was over.
A tangled series of events ensued. Despite McLeod's protests, Hope left their Chief Lake-area home after persuading her mother to drive her to the Hart Tim Hortons. David followed, an argument broke out in the parking lot, police were called and David left the scene on foot.
Things appeared to have settled down when Hope arranged to spend the night at Jackson's 1100-block Pulp Mill Road property. Police caught up to McLeod as he made his way south on the Hart Highway and gave him a ride to the Spruceland Mall from where he said he intended to find a motel room to spend the night.
Instead, he made his way to Jackson's 1100-block Pulp Mill Road property and hid in the bushes outside an outbuilding where Jackson and Larsen were working on a vehicle. When Larsen went outside to relieve himself, McLeod pounced.
"Mr. McLeod viciously and without any notice or provocation, violently attacked Mr. Larsen by hitting him over the head with a crowbar. Mr. McLeod then stabbed Mr. Larsen to death using a knife he had brought to the scene," Basran said. "This act of barbaric violence is unconscionable."
McLeod then appeared in the shop. Concerned about where Larsen may be, Jackson went outside to look for him with McLeod in towand found him laying in a large pool of blood but still breathing. McLeod hit Jackson over the head with the crowbar, knocking him unconscious but not before he dialled 911.
McLeod moved on to Hope. He knocked her down, kicked, punched and hit her with the butt of the knife. As McLeod attempted to stab her, she wrestled the knife away but was then strangled until she passed out, then dragged into a travel trailer on the property.
In a turn of events, McLeod then brought a semi-conscious Jackson into the travel trailer, used his belt as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding on Hope's arm and applied some basic first aid to Jackson.
When police arrived, McLeod admitted to committing the attacks.
The hearing on Tuesday drew more than 20 family and friends of both the victims and the attacker and the matter was moved to a larger courtroom. Much of the hearing was spent listening to victim impact statements and ended with McLeod issuing an apology saying he truly regrets his actions.
In a conversation with the Citizen outside the courthouse on Wednesday, Jackson said all five were friends through a mutual passion for cars and trucks. He and Larsen were rebuilding an engine on the night of the attack.
He said he is slowly recovering from the injuries he suffered which include dizzy spells, memory loss and a loss of hearing in one ear. Jackson said he and Larsen were "like brothers" and that every time he makes his way up the driveway on his property he relives what happened.
The clock on McLeod's sentence began ticking on the day he was arrested. As a result, he has roughly nine years and eight months to go before he is eligible to apply for parole.
