The man convicted in the 2016 murder of Abbotsford student Letisha Reimer and the injury of another is expected to be sentenced on Wednesday.
Gabriel Klein was convicted of second-degree murder and aggravated assault of a second victim, whose name is under a publication ban.
The murder conviction brings an automatic life sentence, but a B.C. Supreme Court judge still must determine when Klein will be eligible for parole.
Crown has argued Klein should spend at least 18 years behind bars before applying for release, while the defence is pushing for 12 years.
Klein will serve a life sentence for the second-degree murder of Reimer and the aggravated assault of her friend in November 2016.
Klein, who has schizophrenia, applied for a hearing over criminal responsibility as sentencing was set to begin in September and he later testified that he believed he was stabbing a witch and a monster.
Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes of the B.C. Supreme Court rejected Klein’s argument that he suffered a mental disorder that made him unable to appreciate the nature of his actions or that they were wrong.
Reimer’s father Ulrich, who spoke at the sentencing hearing, expressed doubts that Klein would receive a fit sentence for the damage caused to his family by his daughter’s death.
“He will face jail time, but I feel that justice has failed too many countless times before,” he told the court.
Klein will also be given the chance to address the victims’ friends and family at Wednesday’s hearing.
–With files from Simon Little and The Canadian Press
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