'Super trauma': Judge sentences Leduc teen girl's killer to life with no parole eligibility for 12 years

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Dylan Pountney will serve a mandatory life sentence without parole eligibility for 12 years, minus more than three years for time already spent in custody.

The figure split the difference between the Crown’s request of 15 years ineligibility, and the defence ask of the minimum 10 years ineligibility.

Fireworks erupted Thursday in the sentencing phase of Pountney, now 22, convicted of second-degree murder in the stabbing death of classmate Jennifer Winkler on March 15, 2021, in a Leduc Catholic high school classroom.

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Winkler, who was connected to Pountney through a brief relationship between her dad and his mother and a shared half-sibling, was described as kind, intelligent, funny and a gifted artist in the victim impact statements of devastated friends and family members in the Wetaskiwin courtroom of Court of King’s Bench Judge Eric Macklin.

“This incident could have had no other consequence but to make many students question their own safety, and parents that of their children in what should otherwise always be a safe environment,” Macklin said in announcing the sentence.

Judge’s decision

Although Pountney ran into the classroom to stab Winkler on a break over the course of just nine seconds, he thought about killing her for days, and intended to do so, the judge noted.

One 14-centimetre stab wound from a butcher knife “with considerable force” was the killing blow, the court heard.

Macklin found that while Pountney knew what he did was wrong and that Jenny didn’t deserve it, his responsibility was diminished by his diagnosed psychosis at the time — to be weighed in a proportional punishment.

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In his confession to the RCMP after the killing, Pountney said he’d been off his medication for a couple weeks.

“Mr. Pountney was impacted by his mother’s lifestyle and choices. He then suffered the loss of his mother to cancer and his older brother to a fall. His father described these events as causing the ‘super trauma’ to Mr. Pountney and brought on depression, anxiety and stress to him, his father and his younger brother,” Macklin said.

He acknowledged the horrific loss had a devastating impact, both physically and emotionally, on all who knew Winkler.

“She is and will remain sorely missed by many. No sentence imposed by this court can ever provide justice in the eyes of the victims, families and friends for their devastating loss, no sentence can alleviate the heartbreak, pain and hurt suffered by all of the many members of the victims, families and friends,” he said.

A family tragedy

Thirteen victim impact statements were filed, describing shock, trauma, ongoing loss and deep depression after the murder of Winkler.

Winkler’s brother Sean Winkler was visibly angry when he gave his statement.

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“March 15, 2021, was the day my life shattered. You want to look at me?” he said to the convicted Pountney. “Shattered into a million pieces.”

Calling the 22-year-old “a disgrace of a human being,” Winkler told him, “Truthfully, you’re lucky the police found you first, and I hope you understand that.”

“Every day I have to live with the fact that I’m never going to see her get her licence, go to university for arts. I’m never going to see her get married, have her own children and get to grow old with her siblings, as siblings should,” Winkler said.

All he has now is pictures and memories to show his children what an amazing person she was, “and how she was ripped from my life and my family’s life, and she didn’t deserve that,” he said, addressing Pountney directly.

“Look at me. Clock starts ticking.”

Jennifer Winkler’s father, Dale Winkler, described the travesty of losing his teen daughter, who had brimmed with kindness, creativity and a bright future.

“No father should bury their children,” the elder Winkler said.

“The amount of pain this monster’s caused is unbelievable. He deserves to be locked up for the rest of his life,” he said, crumpling his lengthy paper statement up and throwing it at Pountney as he left the courtroom.

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Pountney’s friends and family talk

At the time of the murder, the 19-year-old Pountney was “swimming in a sea of psychosis, and that the act of staying afloat in that sea of psychosis included the killing of Ms. Winkler,” defence lawyer Derek Anderson said, asking for the minimum of 10-year parole ineligibility.

A neighbour and family friend, Joanne Bremness, told the courtroom Pountney had opened up about things he said he witnessed when he was under the care of his mother and other men in her life.

Bremness called the stories “very intense and graphic” when viewed through the eyes of a “young person without the knowledge or maturity to process them.”

In his rambling yet matter-of-fact statement to Wetaskiwin RCMP after the murder, Pountney’s comments included lurid details he declared he’d either witnessed or figured out.

Bremness said as a mental health professional, she knew how early traumas could impact a teenager’s “values, decision-making abilities and social skills.”

Since his imprisonment, Pountney has written a book on yellow legal pads during his incarceration, she said.

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“He has found meaning in his life through the Muslim faith, and we have had many deep conversations about faith, religion, our purpose on this planet,” Bremness said.

Pountney spent time in Alberta Hospital Edmonton and dealt with mental illness and addiction, and is now being treated with antipsychotic medication, the court was told.

After the murder, some of Pountney’s conversations were “quite scattered and nonsensical,” but as his body cleared of toxins and his Muslim faith took hold, she found it easier to follow his words, Bremness said.

“Just a couple weeks ago, we talked at length about the importance of faith in our lives, the way major world religions have so much in common, as well as the impact of drugs and alcohol on teenagers,” she said.

Pountney’s father, Nathan Pountney, choked up as he recalled his son going “from a youthful, beautiful smile to a troubled soul,” and that he did his very best to raise his son.

“My apology doesn’t do anyone any good, I know. Please understand my heart is in pain.

“I truly hope that the mental health aspect plays a part in your decision. It could go a long way in society’s fight for the many affected,” the elder Pountney told the judge.

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“Unfortunately, I can’t bring Jenny back — and I’m trying to save another.”

Prior to pronouncing the sentence, Judge Macklin invited Pountney to make a statement.

“I just want to apologize for all the pain and suffering I caused Jenny’s family, for my family and for the community, and I promise to work hard with counsellors, doctors and other supports to get better,” Pountney said.

jcarmichael@postmedia.com

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