CALGARY — The Alberta Court of Appeal has upheld the sentence of a man who argued he was fending off an attempted sexual assault when he stabbed his new neighbour 37 times.
Nicholas Rasberry was found guilty of manslaughter in the death of school teacher Craig Kelloway in May 2013 and sentenced to seven years in prison.
In a split decision, the three-member panel ruled that the sentence imposed by the original judge was within the appropriate range for manslaughter and a fit sentence.
Rasberry was originally charged with second-degree murder.
He admitted at his trial that he stabbed Kelloway after the two men and their wives had spent time drinking at a barbecue at Rasberry's Calgary home, but he said he acted in self-defence.
He said Kelloway, who was originally from Glace Bay, N.S., had threatened to sexually assault him and his wife.
