Craig Kelloway's mother angry killer Nicholas Rasberry out on bail

A Cape Breton woman says the justice system has failed after the man who killed her son by stabbing him 37 times was granted bail in Calgary pending an appeal of his manslaughter conviction.

Nicholas Rasberry killed 31-year-old Craig Kelloway in May 2013. The two were neighbours in a Calgary suburb and had been drinking for several hours before the stabbing.

Rasberry claimed Kelloway had tried to force himself on him and the stabbing was in self-defence. He used three knives, breaking them all. Rasberry was convicted of manslaughter last year and sentenced to seven years in prison.

'He suffered'

Kelloway was a school teacher originally from Glace Bay, N.S. His mother, Monica Kelloway, said Friday she's angry her son's killer is walking the streets.

"That hurts," she said. "That's hurtful because he suffered."

She reflected on the savagery of the attack in which her son was disembowelled and slashed repeatedly.  

The grieving mother disputes Rasberry's claim that her son attacked him.

"My son would not attack that man and try to rape him like he's saying," she said. "That's his voice, not Craig's."

Both sides appealing

Rasberry was originally charged with second-degree murder but a judge ruled in October he didn't have the intent to commit murder. He convicted him of manslaughter.

​Both the Crown and defence have filed appeals in the case. The prosecution wants to reinstate the murder charge, while Rasberry's lawyer wants an acquittal or a lesser sentence. Both appeals will be heard together, later this year.

Monica Kelloway said she will continue to fight for her son.

"Until we get justice, it's not going away," she said. "He's not going to have a easy life."