Pair sentenced to 17 years apiece for 2022 killing

BRANDON — Two of the three men charged in the beating and stabbing death of James Vernon Giesbrecht in 2022 were sentenced to 17 years in prison in Brandon Court of King’s Bench on Monday.

Prior to the sentencing, court heard that Giesbrecht’s son said his father’s killing had ruined his life.

“The way I see the future is all broken,” Aiden Cloud, 18, wrote in a victim impact statement read in court by Crown attorney Ari Millo. “I lost my dad — the person who’s supposed to be there for me as I grow up.”

Joseph Lindsay, 39, and Redstone Wombdiska, 30, had been charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Giesbrecht, 37. Both men pleaded guilty to manslaughter instead as a result of a plea deal in June.

Christopher Cutlip, 43, was charged with second-degree murder in connection with Giesbrecht’s death, but that charge was stayed in 2024. During last month’s court hearing, Crown attorney Daniel Chaput said Cutlip was an “immunized witness,” meaning that a prosecutor has agreed his testimony can’t be used against him.

An agreed statement of facts said all four men knew each other through Brandon’s drug subculture.

On Oct. 12, 2022, Lindsay and Wombdiska went to Cutlip’s residence knowing Giesbrecht was there, and assaulted him.

“He was overpowered, held to the ground and assaulted by the accused. He was then confined to a chair, beaten further, all of which resulted in injuries to the person,” Millo said.

Lindsay told Wombdiska to move the stolen Honda Accord in his possession closer to the residence so they could put Giesbrecht’s body into the trunk, Millo said.

Around 5:30 a.m. on Oct. 13, 2022, Blue Hills RCMP received a report of a burning vehicle on a gravel road just outside Brandon.

After the fire was extinguished, officers and emergency personnel found human remains in the trunk.

The vehicle was identified as the stolen Honda Accord that Wombdiska had been driving.

An autopsy confirmed the remains were Giesbrecht’s, and that he died from a single stab wound to his back that had perforated a lung, though he had other injuries, including fractures to his head from blunt force trauma. Giesbrecht had died before the fire was set.

“Nothing more is known about where the victim was taken after leaving Cutlip’s residence, who or if anyone else was involved in the victim’s confinement or who inflicted the victim’s injury across his back,” Millo said.

Millo also read a victim impact statement from Giesbrecht’s mother, Jodie Anderson, who said her son was a happy person with a big laugh who always stepped up to help others.

“We miss him so much and not a day goes by where I’m not thinking of him or speaking of James,” she wrote. “As a mother, this is the worst pain you can go through as a parent.”

Anderson said her son was a proud father who loved playing soccer, baseball and basketball.

“My grandchildren miss their dad so very much,” she said.

Court heard that Lindsay and Wombdiska have criminal records dating back to the 2000s.

Lindsay has prior convictions since 2005, involving property-related offences, breaching court orders, possessing drugs for the purpose of trafficking, firearms-related offences and, more recently, assaulting a fellow inmate in a provincial remand centre in 2025, Millo said.

He is serving a six-year sentence for that assault with enhanced credit for time served.

Wombdiska’s criminal activity dates back to 2008 and includes convictions for weapons-related offences, possessing drugs for the purpose of trafficking, aggravated assault and breaching court orders, Millo said.

He is currently serving time for a three-year firearms-related offence.

Tara Walker, the defence lawyer for Wombdiska, said her client is from Sioux Valley Dakota First Nation and was primarily raised by his mother in a family that struggled with poverty and disenfranchisement.

Wombdiska didn’t complete high school and has never been employed, she said.

Both accused declined Justice Scott Abel’s offer to speak in court.

Abel sentenced both men to 17 years to be served consecutively with their prior convictions.

Abel said the sentence is not a reflection of the value of Giesbrecht’s life.

“No sentence can reflect that value, but the court hopes with the court process now coming to an end that the family can continue their healing,” he said.

Neither of the accused is allowed to contact Cutlip while in custody.

— Brandon Sun