‘I’ll be waiting’: Alleged gangster facing murder charge causes courtroom drama after plea
A Calgary man facing two murder charges pleaded guilty to manslaughter in one of the cases but may be under investigation for an alleged threat he made during his plea on Thursday.
Kai Keller, 32, was accused of first-degree murder in the December 2022 fatal shooting of Ashley Mawdsley, 40, who was killed as he emerged from his southeast home after two gunmen shot at his teenage son.
Police alleged Keller has ties to gang activity in the city, and the case was prosecuted by the province’s organized crime unit.
On Thursday, in the middle of pretrial motions, the Crown accepted a plea to manslaughter due to what prosecutor Brian Holtby described as “litigation risk … and the uncertainty of the jury verdict given the available evidence that the Crown had.”
‘Professionally executed assassination’
Justice Nick Devlin called the killing a “heinous murder of a man in front of his home, in front of his family.”
“This killing had all the hallmarks of a premeditated, professionally executed assassination of a man with many of the signs of the involvement of organized crime,” said Devlin, noting that Keller admitted only to a subordinate role.
Keller spent almost the entire hearing facing the gallery, staring at the friends and family of the victim.
Before handing down the sentence, Keller was given the chance to address the court.
“When I get out of the pen, I’ll be waiting,” Keller told a man sitting with the family in the front row of the gallery.
Courtroom conflict
Later identified as a friend of the victim’s family, the man responded.
“See you soon,” he said before leaving the courtroom.
Defence lawyer Noel O’Brien said afterward that Keller told him that the man in the gallery had mouthed threats, prompting the staring and comment.
When asked why they didn’t block the sightline to the gallery, sheriffs said their only duty was to prevent the two sides — the offender and victim’s family — from physically clashing.
After court, prosecutors told Mawdsley’s family that they would be requesting the courtroom security footage and would be speaking with police about the situation.
Tensions built throughout the hearing as details of the crime were read aloud from an agreed statement of facts by the prosecutor.
Justice Devlin heard that two weeks before Mawdsley was fatally shot, Keller and another man bought hunting gear — a parka and pants — as well as jerry cans and a licence plate cover from a Canadian Tire store in the Deerfoot City shopping centre.
Shots fired at teen boy
Then, on Dec. 15, 2022, Mawdsley’s teenage son left the family’s Douglasdale house to take the family dog for a walk.
Two people, each holding a handgun, got out of a stolen white Ford Expedition that had been parked on the street near the home. The two men were wearing winter gear and balaclavas.
They took two shots at Mawdsley’s son, who ran and hid in a window well.
Hearing the shots, Mawdsley “rushed to the front door,” according to the agreed statement of facts.
One of the men came up the front steps and shot Mawdsley several times.
He died in his doorway.
‘Lay in wait’
Police later found 16 shell casings at the scene.
The men fled in the SUV and drove to De Winton, a rural area immediately south of the city, arriving just before 9 a.m.
The vehicle was set on fire and the occupants left.
Investigators recovered the hunting parka and pants as well as one of the jerry cans purchased by Keller.
“The clothing allowed the shooters to lay in wait in the winter cold,” reads the agreed statement of facts.
Keller admitted to purchasing the clothing and jerry can and providing it to the killers but did not admit to any role in the actual shooting.
Second murder charge
The prosecutors and defence asked the judge to impose a seven-year sentence. With credit for the time he’s already served, Keller has four years left on his sentence.
Keller still faces a second-degree murder charge in connection with allegations he beat a man to death while being housed at the Edmonton Remand Centre.
Last March, charges of attempted murder and a firearms offence were stayed after a preliminary inquiry when the judge ruled there wasn’t enough evidence against Keller to send the case to trial.
Those offences were connected to a shooting in the East Village Superstore underground parkade in August 2022.
Keller has a criminal history of convictions dating back 13 years for offences that include criminal harassment, assault causing bodily harm as well as drug and firearms offences.
Forgiveness
Court heard that Keller is a father of three who has “indicated a desire to pursue skill in trades after he serves his sentence,” according to O’Brien.
In a victim impact statement delivered Thursday, Mawdsley’s widow told Keller she forgives him.
“And I hope you can find forgiveness for yourself from God,” said Melissa Mawdsley.
Her son, the boy who was shot at before his father was killed, also read aloud a statement calling his dad “my friend, protector, my guide, my rock.”
“You took someone from me who meant the world to me,” said Josh Mawdsley. “You shattered a part of me that will never fully heal.… I won’t let the darkness of what you’ve done consume me.”
Justice Devlin praised the family for their “articulate, thoughtful and compassionate” comments.
“You have honoured your husband and father’s memory in the finest way today,” said Devlin.
The judge then turned to address Keller, urging him to turn his life around.
“You are a father as well, you have a family, too,” said Devlin. “You’ve missed much of their lives.”
“There is no reason you can’t choose to live the rest of your life as a good man.”
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