Jeremy Steinke

Case record: Jeremy Steinke (Richardson family murders)

Overview

Jeremy Allan Steinke was sentenced to three life sentences on December 15, 2008 for three counts of first-degree murder in the killings of three members of the Richardson family in Medicine Hat, Alberta. The murders involved Marc Richardson, aged 42, Debra Richardson, aged 48, and their son Jacob, aged 8.

The offence

The Richardson family murders were the murders of three members of the Richardson family in Medicine Hat, Alberta in April 2006.

The bodies were found in the Richardson home and displayed signs of severe violence. The first police officers to enter the family’s home after the killings on April 23, 2006 found a crime scene “awash in blood,” with the walls smeared with bloody handprints. Marc Richardson died after being stabbed 24 times, and Debra Richardson died after being stabbed 12 times. Jacob, aged 8, was found upstairs in an upstairs bedroom lying on a bed; his throat had been slashed open. Another report described Jacob as “blood-soaked” and lying on his blood-soaked bed.

The Crown alleged a planned murder. The Crown painted a picture of Steinke as a cold-hearted killer who wiped out his then-12-year-old girlfriend’s family as part of a murder plan crafted in advance by the couple and documented in conversations with friends and in online messages they exchanged.

During the trial, the Crown and defence agreed on only one point: Steinke stabbed to death the girl’s parents the night of after sneaking into their home, wearing a mask and dressed completely in black. The Crown also alleged that Steinke and the girl clashed over the circumstances of the younger brother’s death and the motivation for the attacks.

The Crown presented the motivation as adolescent rage at the parents, who disapproved of their 12-year-old daughter dating the then-23-year-old Steinke, described as an unemployed high-school dropout. The defence portrayed Steinke as a damaged victim of a brutalized childhood, as a lovelorn loser, too addled by drugs and alcohol to form the intent to kill.

Investigation

Investigation began on April 23, 2006 after concerned neighbors called officers to the Richardson family home in Medicine Hat, Alberta.

Detectives initially feared that the Richardson daughter might have been a kidnapping victim. As evidence developed, police believed her involvement in the murders.

Arrest and charges

On April 23, 2006, after the bodies were found in the Richardson home, the couple’s 12-year-old daughter was absent from the home at that time.

For a time it was feared that she might have been a victim, but she was arrested the following day in the community of Leader, Saskatchewan, about 130 kilometres away, with her 23-year-old boyfriend Jeremy Allan Steinke. Both were charged with the three murders.

Later, on May 3, 2006, Steinke's friend Kacy Lancaster, 19, was charged with being an accessory, including driving them away in her pick up and disposing of evidence.

People

Victims

• Marc Richardson, 42
• Debra Richardson, 48
• Jacob Richardson, 8

Accused and related persons

• Jeremy Allan Steinke, 23 at time described; convicted and sentenced for three counts of first-degree murder
• Jasmine Richardson, the 12-year-old daughter involved; convicted as a youth for three counts of first-degree murder
• Kacy Lancaster, 19, friend of Steinke; charged as an accessory later
• Jacqueline May, Steinke’s mother

Officials and lawyers named

• Norm Boucher, mayor of Medicine Hat and chief of police at the time of the killings
• Ramona Robins, Crown prosecutor
• Alain Hepner, defence lawyer
• Stephanie Cleary, Crown prosecutor
• Justice Scott Brooker, judge
• Tim Foster, defence counsel
• Kathryn Beyak, defence counsel
• Jordan Attfield, witness who testified Steinke threatened to implicate him and others if caught
• James Whalley, witness who testified Steinke boasted
• Deputy Registrar of the Court of Appeal (Calgary), court official

Trial

Daughter’s trial and conviction (youth)

Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act the name of the daughter could no longer be published in Canada after she became a suspect. Under the same act, 12 was the youngest possible age at which a person could be charged with a crime; convicts under 14 at the time they committed a crime could not be sentenced as adults, and could not be given more than a ten-year sentence.

On July 9, 2007, the girl was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder in the killings. Another report stated she was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder July 8.

On November 8, 2007, she was sentenced to the maximum penalty of ten years imprisonment. Her sentence included credit for eighteen months already spent in custody, to be followed by four years in a psychiatric institution and four-and-a-half years under conditional supervision in the community.

At sentencing hearings described elsewhere:

• Justice Scott Brooker sentenced her to a special intensive rehabilitation youth sentence, and she received 11/2 years credit for time already served, leaving 81/2 years remaining. She would be 22 when her sentence was complete.
• She was required to serve four years of her sentence in a psychiatric hospital.
• Brooker called the crimes “horrific” and described the victims as “wonderful.”
• Brooker ordered four years in secure custody in Alberta Hospital, with psychotherapy likely to begin in January, and then 41/2 more years in open custody in the community in a group home while continuing therapy.
• An RCMP officer was granted permission to take a swab of the girl's DNA for a national database.
• Brooker banned the girl from owning firearms for life.
• Brooker described that the entire system worked toward rehabilitating her so she would not reoffend.

The sentencing hearing included statements about the girl’s mental condition. Pre-sentencing reports and psychiatric evaluations described her as “seriously disturbed.” Crown prosecutor Stephanie Cleary said psychiatric reports showed the girl failed to show any remorse or acceptance of criminal responsibility and did not recognize she had committed a crime.

Defence counsel Tim Foster and Kathryn Beyak argued keeping the girl in custody for the maximum would be too harsh and instead asked for three years in custody followed by four years under a suspended sentence, and argued she should be given 11/2 times credit for time already served. Foster said she was coping and was anxious to engage in therapy and rehabilitation. Foster also said her extended family continued to be supportive with regular visits and regular phone calls.

A hearing date for a change of venue application related to Steinke was scheduled for Feb. 21 to 22, and it was linked to her high-profile jury trial.

Steinke’s trial and conviction

Jeremy Allen Steinke was found guilty by a jury of three counts of first-degree murder in the gruesome deaths of an Alberta couple and their eight-year-old son.

A report stated the jury began deliberations Thursday afternoon following a two-and-a-half week trial, and that the guilty verdicts were read in court. Another report stated the jury found her guilty on July 9, 2007 for the daughter; Steinke’s trial is discussed as taking place in connection with her highly publicized jury trial.

The Crown prosecutor Ramona Robins presented a recording of a conversation Steinke had with an undercover officer posing as a prisoner while he was being transported to a Calgary lockup. In the recording, Steinke admitted he was responsible for the deaths and gave details of the killings.

Verbatim statements attributed to Steinke in the conversation with the undercover officer included:

“You ever watch the movie Natural Born Killers ?... I think that's the best love story of all time...” “You hear about that triple homicide?” Steinke said during the recorded conversation. “Yeah. You’re looking at him. . . . Me and my old lady have become legends.” “It didn’t bother her at all, either, she didn’t cry or anything. In fact, the next day when we were on the road, f-n’ she was laughing about it. She’s got a few screws loose, too.” “Well, I love your plan, but we need to get a little more creative with like details and stuff.” “Because your daughter wanted it that way.”

In addition, Steinke told the undercover officer the girl slit her brother’s throat, and the report described that he also said that the father’s dying word was, “Why?” and Steinke replied, “Because your daughter wanted it that way.”

The Crown showed the jury transcripts of messages exchanged by Steinke and the girl a month before the killings. The girl, writing under the online alias “runawaydevil,” told Steinke:

“I hate them. So I have this plan, it begins with me killing them and ends with me living with you.” Steinke, writing as “Souleater,” responded:

A witness Jordan Attfield testified Steinke asked for his help and, when he refused, threatened to implicate him and others if he was caught.

A friend James Whalley told the jury Steinke boasted he “gutted” the girl’s parents “like fish.”

An underage witness reported seeing Steinke and the girl smiling as they pored over newspaper coverage of the killings.

After their arrest, the couple exchanged jailhouse love letters and promised to marry.

Steinke’s defence counsel Alain Hepner argued that the attacks on the parents were “an impulsive reaction” triggered by excessive intoxication and drug abuse that night, and by being surprised in the house by the girl’s mother. Hepner dismissed the conversation with the undercover officer as hollow boasts intended to shore up his prison reputation, and described the online exchanges as “bluster” from “a young man with zero self-esteem who finally found someone to love him.”

Sentencing

Steinke sentencing

On December 15, 2008, Steinke was sentenced to three life sentences on each of three counts of first-degree murder. The sentences were to be served concurrently. Steinke would be eligible for parole after serving twenty-five years.

Timing and name references

A report described that Steinke changed his name and stated he was now going by the name Jackson May in documents filed in the Alberta Court of Appeal. The Deputy Registrar of the Court of Appeal in Calgary wrote that his notice of appeal was out of time and that he must file a motion to extend time to file an appeal. The report stated Steinke had a meeting scheduled for May 15 with a case management officer in the Court of Appeal to determine if he intended to pursue his case further.

A hand-written note attributed to Steinke, filed in the Alberta Court of Appeal, stated:

“I’ve recently had my name changed to Jackson May,”

In the same report, Steinke stated in the late notice of appeal that the Dec. 5, 2008 decision by a Calgary jury “was an unreasonable verdict.” He also said his unfamiliarity with the criminal system and his inability to find a lawyer caused him to miss the 30-day deadline to appeal:

“I didn’t appeal because I’m new to the system and did not know what I was doing and at the time could not find a lawyer who would take my case.”

The report described that Steinke’s trial lawyer Alain Hepner said he was recently contacted by Legal Aid to provide an opinion on whether an appeal would be worth pursuing, and that Hepner had not yet given an opinion.

Appeals

The Deputy Registrar of the Court of Appeal in Calgary advised Steinke that his notice of appeal was out of time and required him to file a motion to extend time to file an appeal. No further court hearing was set in the report.

Outcome

• Steinke admitted to the murder of the parents in conversation with an undercover police officer while in custody.
• The accessory charge against Kacy Lancaster was dropped.
• Kacy Lancaster pleaded guilty to an obstruction charge in Medicine Hat provincial court.
• She received one year house arrest as part of the plea bargain.
• The report described that close to three years of house arrest Lancaster served played a part in the agreement to her plea bargain and that she was ordered to abstain from drugs and alcohol.

Other details

Communication and alleged beliefs

Steinke’s friends said he told them he thought he was a 300-year-old werewolf. He also allegedly told friends that he liked the taste of blood and wore a small vial of blood around his neck. He had a user account at the VampireFreaks.com web site. The daughter had a page at the same site under the name “runawaydevil” that falsely said she was 15 and ended with the text “Welcome to my tragic end.”

The report described speculation they met there, but an acquaintance said they met at a punk rock show in early 2006. The couple were also found communicating at Nexopia, a popular web site for young Canadians. Various messages they sent to each other were available to the public before the accounts were removed by Nexopia staff.

Film watched before the killings

Just hours prior to committing the murders, Steinke and some friends reportedly watched the film Natural Born Killers, described as a 1994 film about a young couple who commit a violent spree of killings. Steinke asserted to his friends that he and his girlfriend should go about their plans in a similar manner, but without sparing his girlfriend’s young brother.

Alleged intoxication and substances mentioned at trial

During the trial, Steinke told the undercover officer he had been drinking a “two-four” of beer and a bottle of ‘Vampire’ brand red wine, and had consumed a gram of cocaine. He also claimed he was fond of drinking blood and once ate a batch of sugar cookies that a friend had made with blood. The report quoted his description:

“When they came out of the oven they were pink – that’s how much blood he put in them,”

Steinke’s family and courtroom testimony

Steinke’s mother Jacqueline May testified at court about beatings and abuse he endured at the hands of her ex-husbands and lovers. The report included verbatim statements attributed to May:

“He said he wished he’d never been born,” The report said May added her son had been on antidepressants and medication for attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder since his early teens.

Leadership and community statements

Norm Boucher, described as the mayor of Medicine Hat and the chief of police at the time of the killings, said he hoped sentencing in Medicine Hat might help the town move past the traumatic experience. Boucher said holding the sentencing in Medicine Hat could provide “final closure the community needs.” He also said national and international media in the community was difficult and that it “really shook the community when it happened.”

Boucher said he believed the jury delivered the only logical verdict based on what he called incontrovertible evidence. The report also described that after Steinke’s guilty verdicts and before sentencing, Boucher wanted sentencing held in Medicine Hat.

Custody and rehabilitation for the daughter (context)

A report stated that the daughter would first go to secure custody for four years at Alberta Hospital as part of an Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision program, with psychotherapy likely beginning in January. Another report described that the girl is now a freshman at the University of Calgary and would be free one year after graduating in 2015, with a further sentence review in August and potential release into the community in September. It also described Canadian law requiring release once she reached age 22 and that her sentence would be considered complete and her criminal record nullified at that time.

Timeline

• 23 April 2006 — The bodies of husband Marc Richardson (42) and wife Debra (48) were found in the basement of their Medicine Hat, Alberta home; Jacob Richardson (8) was discovered upstairs; the couple’s 12-year-old daughter was absent from the home.
• 24 April 2006 — Police located the daughter and her 23-year-old boyfriend Jeremy Allan Steinke in the town of Leader, Saskatchewan, about 130 kilometres away; both were arrested and later charged with three counts of first-degree murder.
• 3 May 2006 — Kacy Lancaster (19) was charged with being an accessory for driving them away in her pick up and for disposing of evidence.
• 9 July 2007 — The daughter was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder.
• 8 November 2007 — The daughter was sentenced to the maximum penalty of ten years imprisonment.
• 15 December 2008 — Jeremy Steinke was sentenced to three life sentences on each of three counts of first-degree murder, to be served concurrently.