Photo: Alvin Thomas leaving court
The courtroom at Court of Kings Bench in Melfort was filled with loved ones of Marisha Hoksbergen today as they waited for her killer, 41-year-old Alvin Thomas, to be sentenced.
Thomas, who was originally facing a second-degree murder charge, plead guilty to manslaughter for the death of his ex-partner, 24-year-old Hoksbergen.
Previously, the court heard that Thomas admitted to being a high-ranking drug dealer who carried a 22-calibre sawed-off shotgun, which he always kept loaded.
Thomas also admitted to being a drug user and stated that he used methamphetamine on May 30, 2022, the day of Hoksbergen’s death.
In the days leading up to May 30, Thomas and Hoksbergen were going through a rough patch in their relationship, and Thomas was staying at a friend’s house. When the couple decided to call it quits, Thomas went to the house on Cumberland House Cree Nation where Hoksbergen was staying to grab his things.
When Thomas arrived to get his things, he and Hoksbergen got into an argument. She was lying in bed and handed him his shotgun; he was yelling at her, and the shotgun was put down. When she went to pull a blanket over herself, the shotgun discharged fatally, striking her.
The court heard that the shotgun was prone to random discharge and had even discharged while in Thomas’s backpack before the incident.
The RCMP issued a warrant for Thomas’s arrest on June 1, 2022.
Thomas was arrested by the Prince Albert Police Service on June 4 for committing a break and enter at the Applebee Glass compound in the city. PAPS was not aware of the warrant for Thomas’s arrest when they took him into custody and didn’t realize until they got back to the police station.
Defence previously argued that excessive force was used when Thomas was taken into custody by PAPS. It’s alleged that officers lifted him up from the ground with the handcuffs he was wearing, causing his wrist to break.
Today, when Justice Morrall was going over factors to take into consideration when sentencing Thomas, he decided that the “excessive force” should not be considered.
Gladue factors were considered in Thomas’s sentence. Justice Morrall stated that Thomas faced physical and emotional abuse by his mother growing up. He also attended day school in Cumberland House and residential school in Prince Albert. He spent most of his teenage years behind bars and has been a drug dealer for a large portion of his life. Thomas also deals with intergenerational trauma and depression, which he said cause him to have panic attacks.
“He seems extremely remorseful for his actions, and the guilty plea shows remorse,” said Justice Morrall.
It was also mentioned that Thomas attempted to get Marisha medical attention when the shotgun was discharged.
“At the end of the day, I must balance all of the factors that I previously mentioned,” said Justice Morrall. “The sentence will not replace the joy that she brought to her family.”
Photo of Marisha Hoksbergen: Facebook
“If you do not change, you will be here or in some other court, and the sentences will get bigger and longer,” said Justice Morrall before handing Thomas his sentence.
The Crown was pushing for a sentence between four and eight years, while the defence suggested one between four and five years.
Thomas was given a sentence of six years, but with gladue factors being considered, his sentence was shaved down to five years and nine months. With time and a half served in remand credited, that brought his sentence down to just 917 days or two and a half years.
Thomas is ordered to serve his sentence in federal penitentiary. On top of his prison sentence, he is prohibited from possessing any firearm and other weapons for a period of ten years. The court also imposed a $200 surcharge, and Thomas must provide bodily samples for the purpose of forensic DNA analysis.
Outside of the courthouse, Hoksbergen’s parents spoke about the trial and how her death has affected their lives.
“I’m not happy about the sentence; I don’t believe Alvin’s stories; my daughter was scared of him,” stated Hoksbergen’s mother, Maria Sewap.
“She was loving and caring, especially to her sons; she would do everything for her boys and always made sure they had the best Christmas’s and birthdays,” she said.
Hoksbergen leaves behind two young sons, whom Sewap now cares for.
“I think we need more of our own local, Indigenous cops instead of the RCMP being on call,” said Hoksbergen’s father, Morley Hoksbergen. “Indigenous cops could stop situations like this from happening in the future.”
“I miss her; I’m always missing her, and it’s hard on her sons and her mother, who is taking care of her boys,” he said.