Party Slaying Nets Woman Four Years In Jail
Monday, February 04, 2008 at 14:03
A 22-year-old woman originally from Cumberland House has been sentenced to four years in prison for manslaughter.
Alyssa Michelle recently pleaded guilty to stabbing 23-year-old Montreal Lake Cree Nation band member Kelly Ryan Bird to death on December 30th, 2006.
On Friday, family members of both the accused and the deceased packed a courtroom in Prince Albert.
Michelle broke down in wracking sobs a few minutes after the judge handed down her sentence.
The judge said that while Michelle did seem remorseful, he was not convinced she had really come to terms with what she had done as she referred to the stabbing as an “accident”.
He also found it troubling that she had stabbed another person at the same party where Bird was fatally wounded.
Court heard that it was Bird himself who called for an ambulance at the party, after one of his friends was cut with a knife by Michelle.
According to court records, she confronted Bird and said: “You wanna go?”, before rushing to a drawer and pulling out a butcher knife, with which she attacked Bird.
He stumbled outside, where he encountered the ambulance crew who he had just called minutes before.
Despite their best efforts, he died soon after.
The judge gave Michelle credit for one year in custody, meaning she will serve three years in a federal penitentiary.
Bird’s sister, Lindsay, says she wishes Michelle had received more jail time.
His mother, Dorothy, hopes the Crown appeals the sentence.
The judge described Kelly Bird as a respectful man who looked out for other people.
He is survived by a five-year-old son, who the family is now caring for.