Court-released video shows man who stabbed Abbotsford teen stealing liquor, hunting knife

The B.C. Supreme Court has released surveillance video showing what a man who stabbed an Abbotsford high school student in 2016 was doing hours before the attack. 

The video shows Gabriel Klein, 23, stealing alcohol from a liquor store and a hunting knife from a sporting goods store hours before the attack which left 13-year-old Letisha Reimer dead in the rotunda of Abbotsford Secondary School on Nov. 1, 2016. 

Klein went on to stab a second, unnamed girl nearby who suffered serious injuries. 

He was charged with second-degree murder. 

Although Klein has admitted to stabbing both girls, his defence lawyer argued during the trial Klein should be found guilty of manslaughter as he exhibited odd behaviour and mental distress beforehand. 

Martin Peters, Klein's defence lawyer, suggested Klein did not intentionally plan to kill anyone but only bring about his own death. Peters said his client committed the thefts because he wanted to get drunk and use the weapon to stab a police officer in hopes of triggering a suicide-by-cop scenario.

The Crown, in contrast, argued that Klein's actions on the day of the attack were deliberate and he should be found guilty of murder. 

Prosecutor Rob Macgowan said Klein's demeanour in the hunting store was deliberate — he went into the store and "calmly" compared knives before grabbing one and hiding it under his sweater before the stabbing. 

While the Crown is pushing for a second-degree murder conviction, the defence is arguing it should be reduced to manslaughter.

B.C. Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes is set to deliver a decision in February.