Roommates killed landlord during fight over utility bill, judge hears
Two Calgary men who killed their landlord/roommate during an argument over a utility bill have been convicted of manslaughter.
Brian Lambert, 44, and James Beaver, 54, got in a verbal fight with their live-in landlord Sutton Bowers in October 2016. It not known whether the victim or his killers initiated the fight.
During the two-on-one attack, Bowers was punched, grabbed by the neck, kicked in the stomach and his head was slammed on the floor.
Afterward, Beaver and Lambert staged Bowers' body at the foot of the stairs in an attempt to fool authorities into thinking he had fallen.
The details of the killing are based on two documents: an agreed statement of facts and a document outlining inferences the Court of Queen's Bench Justice Keith Yamauchi was invited to accept.
The documents were crafted by prosecutor Tom Buglas and defence lawyers Kelsey Sitar and Gloria Froese.
Relationship deteriorates
Lambert had moved in with Bowers eight months before. A few months after that, Beaver — who had a prior friendship with Lambert — moved in as well.
The relationship began deteriorating in the months leading to Bowers death.
Lambert had called police on his landlord, and he and Beaver both complained of erratic behaviour. They said Bowers would punch them in the groin and had turned off the water and power to the townhouse they all shared.
The two even tried calling Bowers' father.
But Bowers had also complained to his father that his roommates weren't paying their share of the utilities.
The fatal fight
The confrontation happened on Oct. 8, 2016, the Saturday of the Thanksgiving long weekend.
Around suppertime, Beaver returned home and began making coffee. He and Bowers got in an argument that resulted in Bowers turning off the power.
Beaver left for a nearby pub just three blocks away. Lambert met him there. They left around 9 p.m. and returned to the townhouse together.
That's when the three began fighting. The verbal argument turned physical after Lambert offered Bowers a cheque to help cover the utilities. Bowers tore it up.
There was pushing and wrestling before "the scuffle becomes more violent," according to the court document.
Bowers was punched, grabbed by the neck, kicked in the stomach and "his face gets slammed on the floor."
Once the victim stopped moving, the two roommates noticed Bowers was not breathing. That's when they moved him to the bottom of the stairs.
Bowers died of blunt force trauma to the neck with fractured thyroid cartilage, the medical examiner later determined.
After moving Bowers to the foot of the stairs, Beaver and Lambert began their rudimentary cleanup, which involved using a Swiffer mop to try to get rid of the blood.
Around 10:30 p.m., 90 minutes after arriving at their house, Beaver and Lambert returned to the nearby pub, where they were picked up by a friend. Both men spent the night at the friend's home.
When Beaver and Lambert returned to their home the next day around 10 a.m., they called 911.
Police and paramedics arrived and the two roommates were taken into custody and brought to police headquarters.
Family relieved
Bowers' mother says the last 2½ years have been painful for her family.
"I'm somewhat relieved. This has been very, very difficult for me and my family and it feels like some closure has happened," Lorine Helenka-Bowers said outside the courtroom after her son's killers were convicted. "I'm very grateful we didn't have to go through a three-week trial."
Helenka-Bowers' husband was to be a witness in the trial, so much of the family was kept in the dark about what happened to the victim until they met with the prosecutor last Friday.
The family was finally told about the evidence police and prosecutors had against Beaver and Lambert.
"I felt relieved that I finally, after 2½ years, found out some details," said Helenka-Bowers.
Sentencing will take place later this year.
