WINNIPEG — Melissa Marko says the last words she heard her brother say will haunt her family for the rest of their lives. “We still can’t get Shawn’s last words out of our heads. He said, ‘I’m not going to make it this time,’” the sister told during a sentencing hearing Tuesday. Shawn Marko, 56, was one of five victims of a mass shooting at a Winnipeg rooming house in 2023. He died last year after spending 18 months in hospital. He suffered through 11 surgeries, three bouts of pneumonia and numerous infections, said his sister. He was on life-support three times before he died. A medical expert told court that Marko died from pneumonia linked to being shot three times. “They say over time you will heal, but I’m not sure my father and I will ever get over this,” Melissa Marko told Court of King’s Bench Justice Alain Huberdeau. A jury convicted 35-year-old Jamie Felix in March on five counts of second-degree murder at the multi-unit building in the West Broadway neighbourhood. Crown prosecutors said it was a known “crack shack.” The other victims were Crystal Beardy, 34; her sister Stephanie Beardy, 33; Melelek Lesikel, 29; and Dylan Lavallee, 41.Court heard they died at the scene or shortly after in hospital. The Crown argued at trial that Felix was driven by paranoia after spending days drinking and smoking crack at the house. Court heard his father and brother were associated with a gang that operated the drug den but that Felix had no gang ties. His brother gave him a bulletproof vest and a handgun, and Felix grew concerned that he was being used as muscle because of his military background, said prosecutors. The shooting and trial garnered significant media coverage. Stephanie Beardy’s daughter told the hearing that her mother was more than just a headline. “She was a human being ... she deserved the chance to grow old and make memories,” said Kathleen Beardy Smith. “I’m proud to be her daughter, and I’ll carry her story for the rest of my life.” Beverly Beardy said there’s a big hole in her heart after the deaths of her two daughters. When she thinks about them, she gets a lump in her throat and her eyes fill with tears. “Justice will never be served. You took five beautiful lives. Whatever time you get is not justice,” she told Felix. A second-degree murder conviction carries an automatic life sentence and no parole for at least 10 years. Prosecutor Chantal Boutin argued that Felix should serve at least 25 years, the maximum parole ineligibility period, because there are public safety concerns. The defence is to make its sentencing submission when the hearing continues Thursday. Boutin recognized that Felix, who is Anishinaabe with ties to Berens River First Nation in eastern Manitoba, has experienced intergenerational trauma, childhood instability marred by violence and substance use disorder, said Boutin. She added that those closest to him described a loving person who took pride in his prior military training. He also went to college. When his twin brother, Johnathen, died in a drug deal gone wrong, he turned to drugs and alcohol. Boutin said there were two sides to Felix. “The polite, respectful, happy-go-lucky side ... and a side of him capable of extreme and unpredictable violence when he gets angry, challenged or stressed. “It is the latter side from which the public requires long-term protection.” Felix was intoxicated but made a serious of conscious choices before, during and after the killings, said the prosecutor. He was also on probation at the time for assault causing bodily harm. Since the shooting, court heard Felix has been in more than a dozen altercations with other inmates. Therese Nduku, Lesikel’s mother, said in her impact statement that he had the world ahead of him. “The worst psychological pain to a loving mother is the physical loss of her child ... it is a pain that nobody can lift from a hurting heart,” she said. Kelley Lavallee said in her statement that she would remember her son’s smile and crazy laugh. She also addressed Felix. “I can’t imagine what psychosis or imagined threat you felt you had to shoot and kill five people. I don’t know how to feel about you, even after all this time.” Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press
