Man sentenced to four-and-a-half years in 2024 Edmonton stabbing death

Byron Cardinal, 34, was sentenced Friday, September 11, to four-and-a-half years in prison for manslaughter in the March 17, 2024, death of Gift Tjaveondja, 30. With credit for time already served, Cardinal has less than a year remaining in custody.

Cardinal pleaded guilty to manslaughter on June 12 after initially being charged with second-degree murder. Court heard Cardinal provided the knife to co-accused Dakota Johnson, who allegedly inflicted the fatal wound. Johnson has also pleaded guilty and is expected to be sentenced in October. Both were initially charged with second-degree murder and assault with a weapon.

Tjaveondja was stabbed in public during a fight with two men he did not know. Justice Susan Richardson, who presided over sentencing, described the violence as jarring after viewing approximately one minute of cellphone video of the assault. Richardson noted the use of multiple weapons—a knife and bottle—and a two-on-one attack as aggravating factors, as well as Tjaveondja's retreat from his attackers.

The Crown sought a sentence of four to five years; the defence asked for four years. Cardinal addressed the court during sentencing, saying "I know there's nothing I could say or do that would deserve forgiveness ... I take full responsibility." Cardinal said he had been using time in custody to "better myself on paper and spiritually."

Victim impact statements were read in court Friday. Tjaveondja's mother, Emgard Tjaveondja, described her son as having a "beautiful heart and gentle spirit." She said "My son Gift was only 30 years old when his life was violently taken away. Since that day my life has never been the same." Emgard provided a video of her son as part of her statement, showing Gift saying "We gotta put in the work, work as a team, do as a team. Just be there for each other," and "To my mama watching, mama I love you."

Tjaveondja's common-law partner, Lidiya Telaye, with whom he had been together for eight years and had only recently moved in together, had her statement read by Crown prosecutors. "I didn't just lose him, I lost part of my heart and soul," Telaye said. "He was my anchor when life became overwhelming. The world truly lost one of the good ones."