A Saskatchewan woman who stabbed her victim outside a mall where people robbed her while she was dying was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison for manslaughter. Latisa Grubo, 20, sat in the prisoner’s box with her head down as the verdict was read out in the Court of Queen Albert. The court heard that Grumbo stabbed Kayla Aubichon once in the chest in July 2020, and then walked away without realizing that Aubichon would die a few hours later in hospital. The 33-year-old mother of four was on the sidewalk outside Prince Albert’s Gateway for more than an hour before 911 was called. The video presented in court shows a dozen people passing by and stealing her bag and headphones. Judge Naheed Bardai said the actions of the people were unconscious. “We will never know if Miss Aubichon would have survived if she had received prompt medical attention,” Bardai said Wednesday. “What we do know is if any of the passers-by had stopped and called for help and if help had arrived earlier … there is a chance Miss Aubichon has survived,” he said. “A chance for a mother not to have to bury her daughter and a chance for a seven-year-old girl to continue to feel her mother’s warm embrace. “It is clear that more than one life was destroyed that day.” Barday said the sentences for manslaughter vary depending on the circumstances that may include an accident as well as a death without foresight. He said Aubichon’s knife could not be “described as merely accidental”. The victim impact statements read in court during Grumbo’s last appearance in March included a letter written by Aubichon’s seven-year-old daughter. The girl described how much she missed her mother and how hard it is to find Mother’s Day when all the other kids at school are making cards. The girl also painted a picture of her mother’s last memory – lying on a coffin in a grave. The motive for the stabbing remains unclear, although there was a suggestion in court that a debt was due. The court also heard that Grubo was high at the time. Barday said he took into account Grubo’s guilty plea and remorse in his sentencing decision. She said she also took into account the absence of a criminal record, the physical abuse she suffered while in foster care and the exposure to drugs and alcohol in her home. “She was never given a big chance,” he said. Aubichon’s mother said outside court that she did not think the sentence was large enough. Sue Aubichon was also critical of people passing by her daughter without stopping to help. “They should also be blamed for leaving her like that.”
