Two men who carried out a deadly hammer attack in broad daylight in a Saanich neighbourhood three years ago were trying to teach their victim a lesson, Victoria provincial court heard Tuesday.
Nathen Monsour, 34, and Lee Hart, 40, have pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of Shawn Douglas Campbell on Sept. 29, 2018. At their sentencing hearing, Crown prosecutor Alexandra Pace, who is seeking a seven- to eight- year prison sentence, described the crime as an act of vengeance, motivated by anger.
Before the attack, Campbell and Monsour were good friends and Hart was part of their extended group of friends, with no animosity between them, said Pace. But hostility rose in the 24 hours before the attack.
Court heard that Campbell, 41, had assaulted his wife, Amanda MacDonald, on Sept. 25. He was arrested, then released on conditions to have no contact with her.
On Sept. 27, Campbell’s friend Neil Albrecht invited him to stay in his basement suite on Carey Road. They had dinner with Monsour that night. The next night, MacDonald invited Monsour to dinner at her friend’s house in Sooke.
MacDonald was not answering her phone. Campbell became suspicious that MacDonald and Monsour were becoming romantically involved. During the early morning of Sept. 29, Campbell texted his ex-wife, Tracy Cheetham and said he was going to walk to Sooke. Cheetham said she would drive him, hoping to prevent things from getting out of control.
But around 4 a.m., MacDonald slipped on the stairs and broke her leg in two places. Monsour called an ambulance and accompanied her to Victoria General Hospital.
In the meantime, Campbell arrived and was looking for them. He picked up a ladder and broke the window of Monsour’s truck. Then he and Cheetham drove to Monsour’s apartment, where he broke a window and did other damage.
Later that morning, Campbell and Cheetham went back to the friend’s house and were told MacDonald was in hospital and that Monsour had accompanied her. Monsour returned to the Sooke house and found his truck damaged.
In the early afternoon, Monsour went to visit his friend Brian Dark and met Lee Hart, who had been partying. The three men went to Monsour’s residence and found the broken window and other damage. Monsour told them about his truck and the assault of MacDonald. They drove to the hospital and Monsour took pictures of the bruising on MacDonald’s face.
At 2:27 p.m., they left the hospital and drove to Carey Road. Campbell and Albrecht were coming and going from the suite to the driveway, packing the cars for Albrecht’s move. At 3:14 p.m., Monsour and Hart moved quickly down the driveway armed with hammers. Campbell, who was unarmed, was alone between the closed garage and the car.
In an attack that lasted less than a minute, Campbell was taken to the ground and struck on the back of the head with a hammer. A hammer blow was also delivered to the area above his right eye, said the statement.
Albrecht moved toward them to try and help his friend. Hart swung a hammer at him, hitting his arm and bruising his chest. At some point during the attack, Albrecht heard someone say: “That’s what you get for beating your wife.”
Hart and Monsour ran off and got into Monsour’s truck. They drove away, wiping the hammers and throwing them out of the truck.
Campbell sustained skull fractures and lacerations near his right eye, bruising on his torso, lower back and lower legs. His brain injury was deemed unsuitable for surgery. Brain death was confirmed on Oct. 1, 2018.
Although the intention was to teach Campbell a lesson for assaulting MacDonald, the tipping point was the damage Campbell had done to Monsour’s property, said Pace.
Aggravating factors include the use of weapons, planning, distance driven — which provided ample time for tempers to cool — and violence to a second victim who had no part in the conflict, said Pace.
The guilty pleas show remorse, however, she said.
The Crown is seeking an additional six- to nine-month sentence for Hart, who pleaded guilty to assaulting Albrecht with a weapon.
Close to 30 people lined up outside the Victoria courthouse for the hearing. Two overflow courtrooms were opened to accommodate family and friends. The sentencing hearing continues today.
