Crown seeks dangerous offender assessment in 'macabre' Creston killing
Nathaniel David Jessup, convicted of manslaughter in 2015 dismemberment, has long history of violent crime
WARNING: This story contains distressing details.
B.C. Crown prosecutors are seeking a rare dangerous offender assessment for a man who killed and dismembered a woman in Creston, B.C., in 2015.
Nathaniel David Jessup, 35, was convicted of manslaughter and offering an indignity to human remains in B.C. Supreme Court in Kamloops on Friday, following a trial in Cranbrook last summer.
In a written judgment, Justice James Williams described the crime as "macabre, callous and of such a nature that it would shock any sense of decency" but ruled there was not enough evidence to convict Jessup of second-degree murder.
Jessup has a long history of violent crime, including convictions for aggravated assault of a five-year-old boy in Surrey, three counts of assault involving correctional officers, charges of child abduction and an acquittal of second-degree murder charges in the death of a prison cellmate.
Victim disappeared, dismembered body found 12 days later
In the trial by judge alone, the court heard 59-year-old Katherine McAdam had a friendly relationship with Jessup, then 28 years old and homeless.
The defendant was often seen visiting the victim's basement suite on Cedar Street in Creston, including the morning of Aug. 15, 2015, the last time McAdam was seen.
The woman's remains were located by police 12 days later inside a bike trailer on an acreage in Erickson, an unincorporated community just east of Creston.
Court heard the body was decapitated and dismembered into seven pieces with a hacksaw.
"It was apparent to me that the experienced police officers who dealt with the remains at the scene found the situation extremely distressing," Justice Williams wrote of the horrific discovery.
The condition of the body was such that the coroner could not determine an exact cause of death.
While ruling Jessop killed and dismembered the victim, Justice Williams could not conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant intended to murder McAdam.
"In the result, I find Mr. Jessup guilty of manslaughter in the matter of the death of Katherine McAdam but not guilty of the charge of second-degree murder," he wrote.
History of crime and violence
According to court records, Jessup has a long history of violence.
Just weeks after McAdam's disappearance, Jessup was arrested in the Lower Mainland, accused of grabbing a two-year-old girl and an eight-year-old girl in separate incidents near Stanley Park.
In 2017, he pleaded guilty to one attempted abduction charge, as well as the aggravated assault of a five-year-old boy in Surrey, three counts of assault involving correctional officers and was sentenced to 40 months in prison.
In February 2017, Jessup was charged with the second-degree murder of Dylan Judd, 20, a cellmate at the Kamloops Regional Correction centre. Investigators had ruled the 2014 death a suicide at the time but reopened the case. A judge acquitted Jessup of the charge, ruling there was not enough evidence to prove Judd did not take his own life.
Prior to 2015, Jessop had been charged with assaulting a peace officer, trespassing, breaking and entering, possession of stolen property and possession of a firearm, among other charges.
Seeking dangerous offender status
After this latest manslaughter conviction, the Crown applied for and was granted an assessment to determine whether Jessup is a dangerous offender prior to a sentencing hearing on Jan. 23, 2023.
An expert's report will focus on Jessup's risk to reoffend and his prospects for treatment or control in the community. Crown counsel will review the report and decide whether to proceed with an application. If so, the Crown would need to seek the consent of the assistant deputy attorney general, and if consent is granted, the application would proceed to a hearing.
The designation of dangerous offender could result in an indeterminate prison sentence which would periodically be reviewed.
Some 726 designated dangerous offenders are currently in custody across Canada, about five per cent of the prison population.