Surrey Six Murders: Haevischer and Johnston sentenced

CRIME 2008 Chris Mohan Memorial New 

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Wedge on Friday sentenced Surrey Six killer Cody Haevischer to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years, and 18 years for conspiracy. Matthew Johnston gets life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years, and 20 years for conspiracy. Both get credit for time served.

“The conspiracy itself was by its nature so dangerous, so callous and so fraught with risk that it in fact resulted in six deaths, rather than one,” said Wedge.

In October, Wedge found Haevischer and Johnston each guilty of six counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder in the 2007 Surrey Six murders.

And in November, the judge dismissed an application by them to have their charges stayed “for abuse of process arising from both systemic police misconduct during the investigation, and inhumane conditions of confinement while on remand.”

The judge agreed that that the “misconduct involving the four officers was sufficiently egregious that each now faces multiple criminal charges, including for obstruction of justice, breach of trust and fraud,” and that their “conditions of confinement for their first 14 months in remand were harsh in the extreme.”

However, the judge said that they have been “found guilty of horrific crimes” and “the seriousness of the offences is of the highest order: six counts of first degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder.”

Innocent victims Chris Mohan, 22, a South Asian, and Edward J. Schellenberg, 55, of Abbotsford and four other victims who police say led criminal lifestyles – brothers Corey Lal, 21, and Michael Lal, 26, and Edward Narong, 22, and Ryan Bartolomeo, 19 – were executed in typical gang-style fashion at Apartment 1505 of the Balmoral Towers at 9830 East Whalley Ring Road in Surrey on October 19, 2007.