'I want good things for them,' sister of Vancouver slaying victim says of two killers
Credit to Author: Keith Fraser| Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2020 01:03:45 +0000
The sister of a man who was fatally shot in a Vancouver apartment four years ago said Tuesday that she has hopes for the future of her brother’s two killers.
Sharon Kwik expressed those sentiments during a victim-impact statement she read out in court at the sentencing of Cody David Stuiver, 25, one of the two men to plead guilty in connection with the slaying of Christopher Kwik, 40, on Jan. 30, 2016.
Last year, Gage McPake, Stuiver’s co-accused, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
In December, Stuiver also pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Both McPake and Stuiver were initially charged with second-degree murder.
In her moving statement in court, Sharon Kwik told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Joyce DeWitt-Van Oosten that she “loved having a baby brother” and described him as having a “huge heart, full of compassion for others.”
“There is no sentence long enough to take away the pain of losing my brother. He’s gone and nothing will bring him back,” she said.
The sister said she believes everyone is born innocent and full of love, and that the lives of Stuiver and McPake must have been full of pain to have come to this point.
The .44 Magnum revolver used in the fatal shooting of Christopher Kwik, 40, in Vancouver on Jan. 30, 2016.
“Once they leave prison, I will forever wonder where they are and what they are doing. I just hope that they have enough time away from the lives they used to lead to consider a new and better future for themselves,” said Kwik.
“I hope and pray that they are too forever changed by this event. They’re young, with many years ahead of them. I want good things for them, a therapist to deal with their past, a college education or a trade school, a decent income earned by working hard. A cosy home, a loving partner.”
Kwik said she wants the two killers to make reparations for the life they took by being grateful for the gift of their own lives and the enormous potential good that they hold.
“I wish them true happiness and joy because happy people don’t willingly cause harm,” she said.
At the time of the slaying, Stuiver and McPake were running a drug-dealing operation out of New Westminster. Just before the shooting, Stuiver and McPake were angry at being “shorted” during a purchase of drugs at an apartment at 2425 Granville St. in Vancouver. Accompanied by a person only identified as Witness X, the two men drove to the apartment with the intention of committing a robbery, according to an agreed statement of facts filed in court.
Sometime before the shooting, McPake and Stuiver had jointly bought a .44 Magnum revolver.
On the day of the slaying, McPake brought the gun with him in Witness X’s vehicle and Stuiver brought some mace. After Witness X had been in the apartment for a brief period, he left the suite. McPake and Stuiver entered the suite with McPake holding the gun in his hand and opening fire on Kwik, hitting him once in the chest. The victim fell to the floor and the two accused fled the suite without removing anything. Kwik died at the scene.
In sentencing submissions, Crown counsel Michael Barrenger called for a sentence of seven years in prison, while defence lawyer Glen Orris argued that a six-year jail term was appropriate. The judge will impose sentence Friday.
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