St. Albert man gets life sentence for fatally stabbing teen

CBC

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An Alberta judge sentenced a St. Albert man to life in prison Thursday, after he pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing Jaeden Chaisson, 17, during a cocaine-induced psychosis.
Kaj Randall, 29, will also serve seven years consecutively for repeatedly stabbing Chaisson's then-13-year-old cousin, Brooklyn Janes, his common-law partner's daughter.
Randall won't be eligible for parole for 12 years.
The sentence from Court of King's Bench Justice Cheryl Arcand-Kootenay was based on a joint submission in which Randall pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and aggravated assault. He had attacked the girls, one at a time, over a five-minute period.
"Truly at the end of everything, there is no justice for our family because no matter what happens here today, it won't bring my daughter back, and that's all I want," Nicole Chaisson, Jaeden's mother, told the court earlier in the proceedings.
"I just want my daughter back."
Arcand-Kootenay noted Randall's remorse, guilty plea and character references as mitigating factors of the case.
But she said the "brutally violent attack on two teens, who were home alone and attacked by a man they thought they could trust," in addition to the girls' ages, Indigenous heritage, and the impact on the family, made the crime more serious.
In an agreed statement of facts, court heard about the dynamics in the household before the attacks on July 18, 2024.
Randall was a "loving spouse" and "loving father-figure" to Janes, showing no signs of aggression. About an hour before the attack, Randall's partner, who was at work, spoke with him and Janes. She described them as happy.
But at 9:59 p.m. MT, after Randall consumed an unknown amount of cocaine, the couple talked again and she thought he sounded off. She closed early to head home.
Minutes later, Janes, who was on the third floor, heard her cousin screaming one floor below. Randall was repeatedly stabbing Chaisson with a kitchen knife.
When Janes tried to hold her bedroom door shut, Randall forced his way in and began stabbing, punching, kicking and throwing her.
He left momentarily. She crawled under her bed and tried calling 911, but Randall returned, flipped the mattress up and continued assaulting her.
"She described him as looking crazy, breathing heavily, growling, and having eyes that were huge," the agreed statement says.
Janes pretended to be dead, and Randall left the home. She then rushed downstairs and found her cousin severely injured, but still alive. At that time, a friend arrived at the house and called 911.
Two days later, Randall was arrested at his mother's house, hours before Chaisson died from her injuries in the hospital.
"I have flashbacks constantly reminding me that I wasn't even able to hold her hand as her tiny body and warm, loving spirit were leaving this physical world," Nicole Chaisson told court, her voice strong, but thick with grief.
"All of this was done by someone who was looked at like a brother, a son, an uncle, and a father," she said.
"I asked you if my daughter would be safe, but you lied," she said to Randall in court.
Court heard that Janes was once confident, but now struggles with depression, nightmares and staying focused on school assignments.
On Thursday, Arcand-Kootenay agreed to a request from Janes to lift the publication ban on her identity. The publication ban on Chaisson's name was lifted previously.
Randall remorseful
Before his sentencing, an often teary Randall stood in the prison box and apologized to the family.
"I'm sorry for all the pain I caused," Randall said. "I didn't want any of this to happen."
Earlier, court heard that Randall was mainly raised by his older sister, so his single mother could work. He witnessed her being attacked by a boyfriend.
According to his lawyer, Brian Hurley, Randall didn't finish high school but worked steadily until he got in with a bad crowd. By 19, Randall was drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana and using cocaine and MDMA — commonly known as ecstasy or molly.
The stabbing last year was not Randall's first time attacking someone because of drugs, although the Chaisson family only discovered that afterward.
According to parole board documents, Randall broke into a St. Albert home in January 2016 while a family was sleeping and repeatedly stabbed a pregnant woman in the back.
The parole board attributed his actions to a $15,000 drug debt accrued while selling cocaine.
"Mr. Randall knew he was capable of extreme violence," Arcand-Kootenay said Thursday.
She urged Randall to use his prison time positively, to "understand what's being taught so you can apply that in your life."
She wished the Chaisson family a peaceful journey.