Man sentenced for series of stabbings that left one dead, two injured in northeast Edmonton

A knife-wielding attacker who killed a man and left two women injured in 2022 has been sentenced to more than 14 years in prison.

Clarence Lawrence, now 28, admitted Wednesday to attacking three people after taking two kitchen knives from his grandparents' house in the Homesteader neighbourhood of northeast Edmonton on the afternoon of Sept. 7, 2022.

Over the course of a few chaotic minutes in the area of Hermitage Road and Henry Avenue, Lawrence randomly stabbed a woman inside a bus shelter, then attacked a woman he knew at a nearby homeless encampment.

The women managed to escape with injuries, but the third victim, 38-year-old Brian Berland, collapsed and died on the street after Lawrence — a man he'd never met before — stabbed him four times.

Lawrence was charged with second-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault.

He pleaded guilty Wednesday to the assault charges and a lesser charge of manslaughter.

At his sentencing hearing, court heard that a forensic psychologist determined Lawrence was in a state of psychosis at the time, likely triggered by "self-induced intoxication."

He has a history of mental illness and substance-use disorders, and had previously experienced methamphetamine-induced psychosis. Toxicology results showed cannabis and meth in his system the day of the attacks.

Court of King's Bench Justice Paul Belzil accepted a joint submission from the Crown and defence on the sentence: 15 years in prison for manslaughter, and three years for each of the assault offences. The assault terms run concurrent to each other, leaving a total 18-year sentence.

With enhanced credit for the time Lawrence has spent in custody since he was arrested more than two years ago, he has 14½ years left to serve.

"This case illustrates the tragedy when there is a combination of mental health issues and illicit drug use," Belzil said.

"This is one of those cases in our court system … nobody wins as a result of what's gone on here."

Killer 'delusional' after arrest

According to agreed facts read in court, Lawrence made bizarre statements throughout the day of the attack. He spoke to the victim in the encampment about "alien eyes" and "the invisible man." After the stabbings, he approached a group of people and asked to borrow a gun "to kill more demons."

After leaving the scene where he stabbed Berland around 2:20 p.m., he discarded his jacket and changed into a pair of sweatpants he stole from a nearby Walmart, then stole a bottle of wine from a liquor store.

Police spent nearly four hours searching for Lawrence before he was arrested just before 6 p.m.

Officers found Lawrence "delusional" and initially took him to the hospital. In an interview with police the following day, Lawrence remembered his crimes and admitted to them, saying he knew what he did was wrong, but he "did it for the humans."

He said he took the knives to "deal with the worst killers in the world who were stealing people's souls," and spoke about how he needed to "send a message" to God, Jesus and Satan, who he believed had entered the victims' bodies. 

Crown prosecutor Keith Nicholls said despite Lawrence's state of mind, he bears a high degree of responsibility for the violence he inflicted. He has a history of substance-induced psychosis but knowingly used drugs, Nicholls said.

Avoiding a trial by entering the guilty pleas is significant, Nicholls said, especially because it spares Jamie Berland from having to testify about witnessing her cousin's traumatic death.

The two had been on a walk together when Brian Berland was attacked. His family credits him with saving his cousin's life, telling her to run from the attack even though he couldn't get away because he had a physical disability and walked with a permanent limp.

"That day he was a hero," his aunt Roxanne Berland said Wednesday, reading a victim impact statement in court.

"I can only imagine how scared he was that day, and no one should ever die that way. It was a random act and he did not know his life was going to end."

Jamie Berland read a victim impact statement through tears Wednesday, as she and her husband stood together wearing shirts with Brian Berland's picture.

"My life is so different without you," she said.

"I'm hurting — so many words nobody can say."

'It was just too much, too quick'

Members of both the Berland and Lawrence families wiped away tears through the court proceedings Wednesday.

Defence lawyer John Sinclair told the judge that Lawrence's family has struggled for a long time to get him help, but nothing worked.

"I'm not minimizing that mental health issues were being exacerbated with drug use, but rather the family has been, for years, trying to deal with the mental health issue, and it has been fraught with difficulties trying to get something done," Sinclair said.

Lawrence knew the woman he stabbed in the homeless encampment, Sinclair said, because he'd been living there before the attack. Family members had just got him out and into his grandparents' house, and were trying to stop his downward spiral.

"There were steps they were trying to take," Sinclair said. "It was just too much, too quick, and we have the unfortunate result."

Sinclair said his client is now getting treatment and medication in custody that seems to be working, and hopes he can remain stable.

Handing down the sentence, Belzil called the case an incredible tragedy.

"I can tell from the victim impact statements that the level of emotional impact is extreme," the judge said.

"I also think it needs to be reflected from the perspective of the Lawrence family. You, too, are victims because of what's happened. You wanted help, it wasn't forthcoming, and it's ended up in this terrible situation."