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Family reacts after killer gets 20 years in prison

Kevin Mantla has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 20 years.

The 39-year-old Gameti man convicted of killing Elvis Lafferty in a brutal knife attack that left Lafferty's girlfriend – Mantla's ex-partner – seriously wounded, showed little emotion as Justice Charbonneau read her decision in NWT Supreme Court Thursday afternoon.

“Yes,”whispered Lafferty's younger brother – seated next to half a dozen teary-eyed family members and supporters – as the sentenced was handed down.

“No matter what sentence I impose … nothing will make up for the loss …,” said Charbonneau, calling the fallout from Mantla's actions “unbelievably sad.”

In the early hours of Sept. 28, 2015, Lafferty was stabbed to death inside a Lanky Court Apartment unit by Mantla, who'd flown to Yellowknife from Gameti the day before. In what Charbonneau called a jealousy-fueled and focused attack, Mantla then turned the knife on his ex-partner, nearly severing her hand as she struggled to defend herself.

Mantla was convicted of second-degree murder and attempted murder in May. Under the Criminal Code of Canada, second-degree murder convictions carry an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 25 years.

Two of the victim's young children, who were inside the apartment during the attack, watched as their mother fought for her life. Elvis Lafferty's mother Mary Jane and father Archie were also inside the unit when their son was fatally stabbed.

The presence of the children and Lafferty's parents, Charbonneau said, made the attack “all the more devastating.” Citing numerous victim impact statements read in court last week, Charbonneau said some of the family members blame each other for the attack. Charbonneau was clear: don't.

“There's only one person who bears responsibility for the what happened and that person is Mr. Mantla,” she said.

Charbonneau added someday the children will need to know what happened, which will mean trying to “explain the unexplainable.”

Evoking the words of Crown prosecutor Jill Andrews, Charbonneau called Mantla's attack the “ultimate form of domestic violence.” Pointing to Mantla's criminal record – which contains numerous offences of mischief and no-contact breaches related to his ex-partner and victim – Charbonneau said “it does not take a lot of imagination to get a picture of just how unhealthy the relationship was.”

The convictions, she said, add “chilling context,” to the woman's victim impact statement, in which she lamented having to “walk on eggshells” around a jealous and controlling Mantla.

Charbonneau said domestic violence is “all too present in our communities,” and in the courts.

“It's everyone's problem and it should concern everyone,” she said.

Charbonneau added the root of the problem, as seen in Mantla's case, is often an “unhealthy sense of possessiveness over one's spouse.”

She said the only good that can come from the tragic event is "people taking stock of what's going on in their communities, " so that other families don't go through something similar.

“Right now my son is six-feet underground,” Archie Lafferty told reporters outside the Yellowknife courthouse following the decision.

“If I’m lucky I might see him in heaven. But right now I won’t see my oldest boy again,” he said.

Elvis Lafferty's mother, Mary Jane, expressed disappointment with the sentence.

“But why 20 years? They should have just thrown him in for 25 years and throw the key away,” she said.

Mary Jane said she'll never see her son walk through the door again.

“That's the only thing that's on my mind right now,” said Mary Jane, fighting back tears.

For the attempted murder conviction, Mantla received a 15-year sentence to be served concurrently. He's barred from contacting Lafferty's family and his ex-partner's children, and is prohibited from owning firearms for life.

Mantla, who smiled as he exited the courtroom Thursday, maintains his innocence and has expressed an intent to appeal his conviction.