BATTLEFORD - A man facing charges in the death of Gregory Cope received a lifetime prison sentence at the Court of King's Bench Thursday.
Travis Jean, 36, previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Aug. 16, 2024, in the case. A separate charge of arson was withdrawn.
Justice Krista Zerr accepted a joint submission from the Crown and Defence for a lifetime sentence in prison, with no parole eligibility until he has served at least 10 years. When factoring in time served, since Jean was arrested May 17, 2023, he will not be eligible for parole for roughly another eight and a half years.
The judge also ordered Jean to submit a DNA sample. He received a firearms prohibition for 10 years and was banned for possessing any prohibited weapons for life.
Presenting for the Crown in the case were prosecutors Brynn Achtymichuk and Jennifer Schmidt, while attorney James Struthers represented the Defence.
Police previously stated on Feb. 27, 2023, that Cope's remains were found in the the debris of a Feb. 18, 2023, house fire on 27th Street West in Battleford.
In reading the Agreed Statement of Facts in court, Achtymichuk said Cope was shot in the back of the head. He said the house fire was shown to be deliberately set.
He said a second fire was lit on Cope's torso after he was shot
The court heard, in a recorded conversation, Jean told his mother on the phone that what he did to Cope he did on his own.
"This is all on me," he said.
In addressing the aggravating circumstances in the case, Achtymichuk said Jean lured the victim to the house, and set his body and the house on fire after shooting the victim.
In reading her victim impact statement, the mother of one of Cope's two children, Katrina Peters, said Cope was a kind-hearted person.
She said the family searched for Cope when they heard he was missing.
And she was afraid for her family when she found out he was murdered.
"I don't understand why someone would do this," she said.
Cope's cousin, Dan Dillabough, said Cope's two young sons now don't have a father.
He said when he first met Jean he shook his hand. Now he feels betrayed by him.
When he met Jean he told him to "be careful," because a murderer is out there, while not knowing that Jean was the murderer.
Struthers said Jean is Metis, and is a single father of four girls, whom he sees on a regular basis. He said Jean's relationship with Cope was a good one. But he said Jean took Cope's life because of a suspicion he had about Cope doing wrong.
"The situation is tragic," Struthers said.
When he addressed the court, Jean said: "I can't take back what I did. I truly regret what I did."
In handing down her sentence, Zerr said the "circumstances here are horrific."
She said, alluding to some beliefs Jean formed about Cope, that the law doesn't care about that.
"Vigilantism isn't tolerated in Canada," Zerr said.
"This is murder," she continued, "and this is a life sentence."
Following court, Dillabough said the sentencing was "as good as it could be under the circumstances."
Peters said despite the sentencing, "there is no way to replace a life and there is no way to say he [Jean] is getting a good sentencing, even though he is getting the maximum penalty. That's really not solving the problem, so to speak, because you can never replace a life."
Originally published on Sept. 26 at 9 p.m.
