No jail time for man who fatally stabbed senior in Vancouver
CTV
A man who stabbed a senior to death in Vancouver's Biltmore Hotel building in 2020 has been given a conditional sentence for the killing, meaning he will not serve any jail time if he remains on good behaviour in the community.
A man who stabbed a senior to death in Vancouver's Biltmore Hotel building in 2020 has been given a conditional sentence for the killing, meaning he will not serve any jail time if he remains on good behaviour in the community.
Anthony Warren Woods, 31, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the stabbing death of 72-year-old Alex Gortmaker, who died of a single knife wound to the chest on the floor of the former hotel on Dec. 15, 2020.
The judge's sentencing decision, which was published online Friday, indicates the stabbing arose out of a minor altercation between the two men inside an elevator in the building, which now serves as a single-room occupancy residence.
Woods had been drinking with a friend when they entered the Biltmore around 2 p.m. and took the elevator to the sixth floor. They continued drinking and took drugs inside a suite for about half an hour before leaving, pounding on doors and yelling as they walked down the hallway.
"Their disruptive behaviour resulted in tenants complaining to the manager," B.C. provincial court Judge Reginald Harris wrote in his Oct. 2 decision.
Woods and the unidentified friend rode the elevator up to the seventh floor and down to the ground, where Gortmaker and a woman entered. After 30 seconds, the woman exited on the third floor, leaving Gortmaker in the elevator with Woods and his companion.
"While travelling between the third and fifth floors, Mr. Gortmaker said something to Mr. Woods while slightly pushing him," the judge wrote.
