Jason Robert Weismiller

Timeline

• July 14, 2007 — Darryl James Weismiller was stabbed to death in the Bridgeview area of Surrey.
• July 31, 2007 — Jason Robert Weismiller was arrested over the weekend and charged with the second-degree murder of his brother.
• Monday (after July 31, 2007) — He made his first court appearance in Surrey provincial court and was remanded in custody until his next appearance Friday.
• May 20, 2008 — Jason Robert Weismiller was sentenced to 33 months in prison after pleading guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Background

Jason Robert Weismiller, 27, lived with his identical twin brother Darryl James Weismiller at their father’s home in the Bridgeview area of Surrey. The twins lived at the home with their father, and neighbours said Jason lived with his father at the house while Darryl often stayed elsewhere. The family had three Rottweilers.

Neighbours said the twins often met at the Bridgeview Community Centre or took children to a nearby park. Neighbour Rhonda Hanley, who runs the Bridgeview Community Centre, said she could not picture that something was done by one brother to the other and described Darryl as helpful around the neighbourhood. Sadie Croaker recalled that Darryl insisted on cutting her lawn when she was 20 weeks pregnant and described him as a “good stand-up fellow.” Croaker said the neighbourhood looked out for each other, their kids played outside together, and neighbours took care of each other’s dogs if they got loose. Croaker said the Weismillers — the father, three sons, and a daughter — often had Sunday dinners together, and described the family as not a “party family.” Croaker said the twins had an argument the night of Darryl’s death.

The killing of one’s brother is known as fratricide, and it was described as an uncommon form of homicide, with the murder of an identical twin by the other twin described as even more rare. Simon Fraser University criminologist Neil Boyd, a murder specialist, said: “Fraternal twins, in a general sense, are not much different than other siblings,” and also said: “But I think there is a twin psychology between identical twins that is different.” Boyd explained that a homicide between fraternal twins would likely involve similar circumstances to most fratricide cases, including “a sibling dispute that gets out of control.”

The twins were apprehended by the state when they were toddlers and were subsequently adopted by Robert Weismiller and his wife. The twins later lived with Robert, who works at a local door company, after Robert raised the boys by himself following the divorce when the twins were 12. Darryl was still living with their father while Jason, who had a common-law wife and two young sons, stayed with them periodically. On the day of the killing, Jason spent the day with his wife and kids before returning to the house where Darryl had been drinking hard.

The court heard that both men suffered from severe alcoholism.

The offence

Darryl James Weismiller was stabbed to death. Police initially determined the death resulted from foul play and assigned the case to a team of eight investigators from the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.

At sentencing, it was described that Jason stabbed his identical twin brother to death with a screwdriver during a drunken fight at their dad’s house in Bridgeview on July 14, 2007.

Darryl died of massive blood loss after the screwdriver was thrust into his upper back and severed his aorta. Defence lawyer Kelly Merrigan told the court that Darryl had been taunting Jason with a screwdriver and jabbing at him with it. As the twins grappled, Merrigan said Jason wrestled the screwdriver from him and “lashed out in anger,” stabbing him. Merrigan said Jason “had no intention to kill his twin.” Merrigan said: “He's devastated ... I rather suspect suicidal,” and said: “He loved his brother dearly.”

Only Darryl and Jason Weismiller were in the residence.

Investigation

After police were called to a home in the 11500-block of 127A Street, in the Bridgeview area of Surrey to investigate a report of a “man down,” police announced that Jason Robert Weismiller was arrested and charged.

RCMP Cpl. Dale Carr said: “I feel for the parents,” after police announced that Jason Robert Weismiller was arrested over the weekend and charged.

Police would not release any details about the slaying because the matter was before the court.

Arrest and court appearance

Jason Robert Weismiller was arrested over the weekend and charged with second-degree murder of his brother Darryl James Weismiller, who was stabbed to death July 14. His first court appearance was in Surrey provincial court, and he was remanded in custody until his next appearance Friday.

The arrest came two days before a memorial was scheduled for Darryl.

Trial

Jason Robert Weismiller was originally charged with second-degree murder. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Crown prosecutor Sandra di Curzio laid out the facts in Surrey provincial court. At 1:32 a.m. on July 14, Jason called 911 for an ambulance saying his brother wasn’t breathing. When asked what happened, Jason replied: “He's drunk, he's drunk, I don't know” and hung up. The 911 operator called back a minute later and left a message on the answering machine saying that they didn’t attend “unknown” scenes without the police there and for him to call back immediately. Jason called again asking for an ambulance and said he had found his diabetic brother on the floor. Jason denied there’d been a fight.

The dispatcher told Jason to perform CPR, and the dispatcher could hear Jason saying “Darryl, get up, wake up.” Paramedics and Surrey RCMP officers found Jason on the street crying and yelling for them to help his brother. He was taken to the Surrey RCMP detachment. Di Curzio said: “He was argumentative and uncooperative with police, stating that he wanted to stay with his brother.”

Jason told police that he had spent the day with his family and found his brother passed out on the living room floor and not breathing when he returned to the house.

A neighbour testified he heard the twins arguing on their front deck that night. Jason’s common-law wife told police Jason phoned her and she could hear Darryl calling him a “fat f-k” and “lazy slob, and Jason telling him to shut up and leave him alone.” Di Curzio noted: “Darryl was screaming 'f-k you, you want to see what I got' and so on,” and also noted: “Jason then stated that he had to go because Darryl was going to get a knife and a baseball bat and then he hung up.”

Sentencing and after sentencing

The Crown argued for a sentence of three years in prison, less time served, and three years probation. The defence argued for a prison term of 30 months.

Judge Ellen Gordon sentenced Jason Weismiller to 33 months in prison less 20 months for time already served, meaning he would serve 13 more months in jail. This was followed by three years probation.

Jason wept during the sentencing hearing, as did his father. Co-prosecutor Winston Sayson said the verdict “demonstrated the depth of this tragedy,” and also said: “There are certainly no winners here.”

Other details

The case described the victim as Darryl James Weismiller. The events were connected to the address in Surrey’s Bridgeview area: the 11500-block of 127A Street. Police described the initial call as a report of a “man down.”