A Creston man who admitted to killing two people has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 13 years.
Mitchell McIntyre received the sentence in a Kamloops courtroom on Thursday following a joint submission from Crown counsel and defence lawyers.
Midway through his trial, McIntyre pleaded guilty to second degree murder in the death of Creston’s Julia Howe, 56. He also pleaded guilty to manslaughter with a firearm in the death of Kimberley’s David Creamer, 69. McIntyre shot and killed both of them in their respective homes on Feb. 6, 2022.
Police and the BC Coroners Service initially did not think foul play was involved in either death. McIntyre went to RCMP the day after the killings, telling them they should take him into custody because he was a danger to others, but he declined to be more specific.
He was taken into psychiatric care but due to the vagueness of his statements and difficulty in communication between medical staff and police, he wasn’t charged with Howe’s death until more than a month later. By the time authorities realized Creamer had been the victim of a homicide, his body had already been cremated. No autopsy was performed. McIntyre wasn’t charged with killing Creamer until last August.
Court heard that McIntyre was Howe’s neighbour and they knew each other well, but McIntyre held grudges against her and Creamer.
Second degree murder comes with an automatic life sentence, but judges have discretion to set parole eligibility beyond the minimum 10 years. The Crown said 13 years would take into account both aggravating factors like the use of a gun and an “element of forethought” as well as mitigating factors like McIntyre’s belated guilty plea, his lack of a prior criminal record, his age (he is 66) and his health challenges.
Prosecutors said McIntyre went to Howe’s home, entered her bathroom, and killed her with a single shot from a pistol. He then drove to Kimberley to see Creamer, who was lying on his couch when McIntyre walked inside and shot him.
“He probably never saw it coming,” Crown prosecutor Bernard Caffaro said. “No warning, no explanation.”
“Mr. McIntyre arrogated to himself power of life and death over these two people who had been friendly with him in former times. He did it to gratify his personality. This rigid, idiosyncratic idea of what was owed to him by others when he felt betrayed or wronged. He did not forgive and he did not forget … It was quick, it was brutal, and it was awful.”
Despite the fact that McIntyre turned himself in and later confessed to doctors what he’d done, the Crown said the circumstances were bad enough for parole eligibility to be raised above the default 10 years.
“Giving him every credit for his age, infirmity, and whatever mental health issues may have played a role, I submit the period we recommend is appropriate, supported, and strikes a balance,” Caffaro said.
“Particularly considering the principles of deterrence, denunciation, and expressing the community’s revulsion to what Mr. McIntyre did to these two decent people in two separate communities in what should have been the safest places for them.”
Manslaughter with a firearm comes with a minimum sentence of four years. Lawyers in the case are jointly suggesting that McIntyre receive eight years, to be served concurrently with his life sentence for murder. In addition to the prison time, the Crown will seek a firearms ban, a DNA sample, and a no-contact order with relatives of McIntyre’s victims.
Courts rarely diverge from joint sentencing submissions.
‘He was stolen from me’
The court listened Wednesday to several victim impact statements, including from Howe’s partner, daughter, daughter-in-law, brother, sister, and nephew, and Creamer’s son and daughter.
“My lifestyle and activities have changed because I don’t have my person to share them with anymore,” her partner said in a statement read into the court record.
“I miss Julia’s company every day, and I still talk about her to keep the good times from getting forgotten,” he said. “I felt guilty that I should have heard or seen something and been able to save her … I feel worried that something like that could happen again. It hurts to know that if [McIntyre] didn’t turn himself in, he could have gotten away with [murder].”
Howe’s eldest daughter described her mother as a “warm, generous, and loving person” who loved her family deeply, including her four children and grandchildren.
“Her constant presence was the support system our entire family relied on,” she said. “All of our lives have been a struggle without that support system, emotionally, physically, financially, and mentally.
“Since the day that my mother was violently taken from us, my world has felt empty. I struggle every day with severe anxiety, nightmares, PTSD, depression, and overwhelming sadness.”
In her statement, Creamer’s daughter she relied on his father for “comfort, advice, and stability,” and described him as “the first person I called when anything happened, good or bad.”
She said she will “never be able to breathe a normal breath again. I have night terrors. I have paranoia, anxiety from the way I lost him. He was stolen from me, and it’s unacceptable. I am not okay. I’ll never be okay.”
Justice Paul Riley noted Creamer’s family also expressed frustration in their statements that the handling of the case compounded their grief. “I can see how the victim’s family could find it hard to accept that the way in which the authorities responded can have an effect on what sentence the offender ultimately receives for committing the same act,” he said.
On Thursday, defence lawyer Glenn Verdurmen laid out some biographical details on McIntyre, whom he said had a childhood “marred by significant instability.” McIntyre was abused physically and emotionally by his father, who was an alcoholic, Verdurmen said. McIntyre didn’t do well in school, where he was bullied and sexually abused, Verdurmen added.
McIntyre was employed most of his life in various jobs, including 15 years working for the Department of National Defence in Vancouver as a handyman before accepting a payout. Although he used cocaine and heroin at times, he denied being under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the times of the offences.
He suffered head and eye injuries after being attacked in jail in 2022 and also had a stroke that year. Verdurmen said McIntyre is unable to remove himself from conflict, although he is generally respectful of prison guards.
‘Limited insight’
Verdurmen said it is a “difficult question” whether McIntyre is remorseful.
The judge acknowledged McIntyre pled guilty and went to the police station saying he was a danger to others, but beyond accepting legal responsibility, he said it’s not clear that McIntyre has acknowledged the pain of his victims: “What we lack is any reference to any recognition of loss on the part of the people whose lives he took.”
The judge also imposed mandatory firearms bans of 10 years for some items and life for others. He ordered McIntyre to provide a DNA sample and forfeit the murder weapon.
McIntyre has been in custody for a little under four years. With credit for time served, he will be eligible for parole in a little over nine years.
The judge expressed dismay that McIntyre has shown no interest in programming available to him while in custody and has largely isolated himself from others. He told McIntyre it would be to his benefit to participate, and “may allow you to reflect on your decision making. You have limited insight into your own behaviour, which is troubling.”
McIntyre declined to make a statement before sentencing.
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