A Calgary judge has sentenced a young man who shot and killed another man to 12 years in prison without the possibility of parole.
In February, Hunter Van Mackelberg was convicted of second-degree murder for killing Kalix Langenau, when both men were just 19 years old.
The court heard that Van Mackelberg fired a shotgun into the back of the victim’s head at close range in the early hours of the morning of February 15, 2020 on a rural property near Balzac.
Judge Glen Poelman told the court that “it was an execution-style murder” and Van Mackelberg “showed cruel contempt” for Langenau.
He and Langenau disagreed over the girls they were in a relationship with, according to the court, and the murder was the result of years of tension between the two men.
Van Mackelberg, now 21, did not speak at his sentencing hearing.
DEAR HOCKEY COACH
Several relatives and friends read the impact statements of the weeping victims during the sentencing hearing on Thursday.
Her mother Tracy Henderson said her first child was the family stone, and now she is missing a piece.
“He was such an older child, such an older brother, such an older son,” he told reporters outside the Calgary Courts Center.
He then added: “12 years is definitely not enough in my opinion for the young life that was taken and the lives that have been destroyed since then.”
His father, John Langenau, told the court that he was in agony, as if pieces of his heart and soul had been torn from him.
“There is no justice when someone gets out of your life, especially someone as charismatic, inspiring, funny, kind-hearted, patient and as lively as Kalix,” Langenau said.
Langenau is remembered as a children’s hockey coach at Explosive Edge in Airdrie with aspirations for a career in the sport, and had applied for a broadcast program at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.
Many family members say they regret the future milestones, holidays, and celebrations that will never be shared.
Surviving family members have created the Kalix Coach Foundation to provide sports equipment for children.
CASE FACTS
Friends said Langenau lived in Vancouver and was visiting Calgary for the long Family Day weekend.
Langenau had a previous relationship with Madeline Kot, Van Mackelberg’s girlfriend at the time of the crime.
Hours after several text messages were exchanged between the victim and Kot, the murder took place in a camp known to Van Mackelberg and his friends.
The killer called his father to ask him what to do with the body after the murder.
Defense attorneys argued that the messages shared between the victim and the killer’s girlfriend were a provocation and a mitigating factor, but the judge dismissed it, saying it was not a crime of passion.
Crown prosecutors argued that Van Mackelberg had a known history of disorderly conduct and contempt for the law and called for eligibility for parole after 18 years.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, prosecutor Ron Simenik said the judge gave solid reasons for the verdict.
“The fact that these were young men is worrying to say the least,” said prosecutor James Sawa.
“Justice had to balance the obviously hateful nature of the crime with the fact that there is some possibility that Mr Van Mackelberg will be rehabilitated and this is a difficult decision he had to make.”
Sawa then added: “It’s still a life sentence.”