Frank James Frenchman, the man convicted of second-degree murder in the death of 83-year-old Bonnyville senior Alfred Wagner, will be sentenced on April 26.
Frenchman was found guilty of second-degree murder by jury in the St. Paul Provincial Courthouse on March 23.
Nearly one month after the verdict, Frenchman will be sentenced.
He appeared in court on Monday, April 1 and scheduled his sentencing for April 26.
During Frenchman’s 10-day trial, his lawyer Naeem Rauf argued the accused’s FASD prevented him from understanding what was taking place when he and his sister, Arizona Chastity Frenchman, murdered the 83-year-old man in his Bonnyville home in October 2016.
However, Crown prosecutor Jeff Rudiak stressed although Frenchman may not have inflicted the fatal wound, he did play a role in the senior’s death.
“If a party aids in an offence, knowing that he is aiding in that offence, he’s just as guilty as the person who does it,” he said during closing arguments March 22.
Wagner was found dead in his home on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016.
Following an investigation, Bonnyville RCMP deemed the death suspicious and called in the RCMP’s Major Crimes Unit, who determined it was a random act and there was no relationship between the suspects and the victim.
Police were notified that Wagner’s truck, a 1974 Dodge D2000 pickup, was missing. It was later found on the Kehewin Cree Nation.
Two days after the discovery of Wagner, Frenchman was arrested in Edmonton. At the time, he was charged with first-degree murder, however following a preliminary hearing in December 2017, the charges were reduced to second-degree.
Arizona Chastity Frenchman was arrested on Oct. 19, 2016 and was charged with first-degree murder.
She was sentenced to five years in November 2018 after pleading guilty to manslaughter on May 31, 2018.
As of her sentencing, she had three years and 55 days left to serve.
