Edmonton man handed 4-year manslaughter sentence in 2013 killing

Ivan Stamp's family waited more than a decade for answers about what happened to him.

Stamp was 31 when he was found dead in a wooded area behind a west Edmonton synagogue on June 5, 2013. He was severely injured, and his death was quickly ruled a homicide, but no one was arrested during the police investigation that followed.

It took eight years for police to reopen the case, after a witness reported that a man he knew as a local bottle picker named "Moose" said that he'd killed someone.

In an undercover "Mr. Big" police operation in 2022, police drew a confession out of Edward Robinson, which he repeated in a formal police interview, according to an agreed statement of facts in the case.

Robinson pleaded guilty to manslaughter, and on Wednesday, he was sentenced to four years in prison. With enhanced credit applied to the two years he's already spent in custody, he has about six months left to serve.

Stamp's sister, Chantell Stamp, said it's a difficult outcome for the family to process. She hopes to hold a ceremony for her brother and remember him for his humour.

"I remember the last time I saw my brother alive, I just had this feeling and I knew I needed to tell him I loved him. And I did," she said.

"It's been 12 years — it's time. Time to heal, time to move on."

'Complex and tragic background'

In his sentencing decision, Court of King's Bench Justice Kent Teskey found Robinson's actions were "rooted in poverty, addictions and personal insecurity of both food and housing."

A Gladue report, which examines the circumstances and history of an Indigenous offender as part of the sentencing process, details Robinson's "fractured" childhood where he regularly witnessed alcohol abuse, and was couch surfing by the time he was a teenager.

Now 34, Robinson was 23, and living in a tent in Edmonton's river valley, when he killed Stamp.

He admitted that after he'd been drinking with a group that included Stamp, he got jealous because Stamp was talking to his then-girlfriend.

Court heard that Robinson led Stamp to a secluded area and knocked him unconscious, then dragged him further into the trees where he kicked and stomped on him, ultimately leaving him on the ground with numerous broken bones and fatal internal injuries.

Defence lawyer Rahul Nanda told the court during a hearing last month that Robinson has essentially lived on the streets, struggling with addictions, for his entire adult life. Nanda said in the undercover operation that led to a confession, police supplied Robinson with food and alcohol to gain his trust.

His client also has significant mental health issues and a suspected diagnosis of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, which Nanda said could have contributed to impulse control issues in the "spur of the moment" assault.

"This is the crux of what intergenerational trauma has done to Indigenous people in this country," Nanda said.

He asked the judge to consider a sentence of no more than five years.

Crown prosecutor James Rowan argued for 10 to 12 years in prison, saying it was a case of gratuitous violence with no provocation "other than a sense of entitlement that no one ought to be talking to his girl."

Teskey landed on a four-year sentence, concluding that Robinson's crime was serious, but his "complex and tragic background" significantly diminishes his moral culpability.

Probation aimed at addressing housing, medical needs

Robinson's sentence also includes a year of probation, with the judge imposing specific conditions for him to work with social agencies to seek housing, income support and medical treatment, including an assessment for FASD.

"Probation is designed to assist with rehabilitation, but before this accused can begin on this path, there are
basic human needs that must be addressed," Teskey said.

"Basic issues like access to a telephone, bus fare, a safe place to sleep and a full stomach are issues that this offender must resolve before we have any hope of dealing with his complex history of trauma and addictions."

During last month's sentencing process, Chantell Stamp read a victim impact statement in court.

"Not knowing what happened to my brother, or who, was something that haunted me over and over. Finally, my family and I will have peace," she said.

"Thank you, Mr. Robinson, for setting our hearts free, including yours. I forgive you."

Teskey told the victim's family members in court that it was important to hear about Stamp as more than "somebody who simply died behind a synagogue."

Extending forgiveness "took a great deal of character and integrity," he said.

"I hope Mr. Robinson understands what that means."