Shaylin Sutherland-Kayseas not eligible for parole for 12 years in murder of Dylan Phillips
Gang member convicted in September of 2nd-degree murder for October 2016 shooting
A Saskatoon judge ruled Wednesday that convicted killer Shaylin Sutherland-Kayseas will not be eligible for parole for at least 12 years.
The 20-year-old gang member was convicted at Court of Queen's Bench in Saskatoon in September of second-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence, for the shooting of Dylan Phillips.
Phillips was killed in his Saskatoon home in October 2016, during a home invasion gone wrong.
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Sutherland-Kayseas was charged with first-degree murder, murder for the benefit of a criminal organization and two counts of assault with a weapon.
Justice Shawn Smith convicted her of second-degree murder, not accepting the Crown theory that Sutherland-Kayseas had acted directly on behalf of the Terror Squad street gang.
This meant that she could have been eligible for parole eligibility after serving a minimum of 10 years.
Justice Smith also convicted her assaulting Jan and Dale Phillips, Dylan's parents. They had tried to intervene during the home invasion, and held their son as he died on their kitchen floor.
"The law will be served today," Justice Smith said in passing sentence.
But he added that nothing in the court proceedings could bring back Dylan Phillips, or help his family with their pain.
He urged them to "hold Dylan's memory tightly, and close to your heart."