Neo-Nazi Robert Reitmeier's appeal rejected in murder of Mark Mariani
Meghan Grant | CBC News | Posted: June 21, 2016 9:22 PM | Last Updated: June 21, 2016
Robert Reitmeier and Tyler Sturrup were convicted of 2nd-degree murder
Two men who stomped a complete stranger to death in an unprovoked attack have now both had their appeals rejected.
A panel of three Alberta Court of Appeal judges denied Robert Reitmeier's sentence appeal on Tuesday.
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"They keep trying like little rats to get out of their holes and they're the ones that put themselves in there," said Kathy Weltzin, whose brother was killed by Reitmeier and Tyler Sturrup.
Mark Mariani, 47, was brutally beaten after wandering into an alleyway behind a strip mall in northwest Calgary where Reitmeier and Sturrup had been spray painting graffiti.
Clinging to life, he crawled to his car in a nearby parking lot, but died without being able to get in or call for help.
"It was heinous what they did to him," said Weltzin, whose family attended the hearing on Tuesday.
Reitmeier sat in the prisoners' box with a Nazi SS tattoo on his face and others covering his neck.
"I think he's a vile person, I look at him and I just want to vomit," she said.
In 2013, Sturrup pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years.
Later that year, Reitmeier, another self-declared white supremacist, was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 13 years.
'We should have been there'
Reitmeier's lawyer Kim Ross argued it was unfair that his client exercised his right to a trial and ended up with a longer parole ineligibility.
"It's not fair he can't go before the parole board [for] three years after Sturrup simply because he [opted for] a trial," said Ross.
Now, both Sturrup and Reitmeier have had their appeals dismissed.
The Mariani family still plans to attend various parole hearings when the time comes.
"For my brother, for his memory," said Weltzin. "We want him to know we should have been there that night. But we're here now."
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