Sister calls for justice after stabbing brother in Lillooet

A Cariboo woman is seeking justice for her older brother who died two years ago in Lillooet after being stabbed multiple times.

Jorry Camille of Williams Lake said Justin Ehlart, who stabbed his brother Leeland Alexander, 25, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Jan. 22, 2024 in connection with the death and is expected to appear in court again from Kamloops on Monday June 3.

She said she heard that Ehlart could be sentenced to just seven years and she asks if that was worth her brother's entire life?

“Why can Justin, who has lived 37 years of his life, enjoy the comfort of freedom after taking such a precious person from me?”

Camille's brother lived in Vancouver for a while.

She last saw him in July 2021.

“I really cared about my brother and loved him,” said.

She describes Alexander as an Indigenous man who suffered from addictions due to intergenerational trauma.

He was a drug addict who lived on the streets and suffered from mental health issues, but he wasn't always that way, devoting the majority of his adult years to extensive maintenance work for the Xat' First Nation sull, their original community, located between Williams Lake and Quesnel.

“During that time he completed numerous ticket training sessions and was part of the core team that built the 20+ km bike path on our reservation.”

Camille noted that her brother's mother was murdered when he was 12 and he was subsequently taken into custody.

Eventually he came back to live in the community, but when their grandmother died, Camille said it was the start of a downward spiral.

“He took care of me through my own trauma and I can never thank him for that,” she said. “I’m proud to be his sister.

She hopes others will remember him well.

“A lot of people will own a piece of him. Even though they had just met him, he was that kind of person.

As for his death, she was allegedly told it was due to an argument that got out of hand, she said.

At the time, RCMP said that on March 15, 2022, they were notified of an injured man in the 600 block of Main Street in Lillooet. RCMP found Alexander seriously injured.

He was transported to Lillooet Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Sgt. Chris Manseau, spokesperson for the RCMP in British Columbia, thanked the witnesses who came forward to help collect evidence in this case.

Manseau also thanked Statlimx Tribal Police, who were on scene before the RCMP arrived on March 15.

“I will attend court to try to understand what happened and I will give my victim impact statement that day.”

Camille invites everyone to a candlelight vigil in front of the courthouse on June 3 at 9 a.m. to help raise awareness.

She said there would be indigenous drummers and singers.

“I want people to know that they can come and support this project if they have a problem with the justice system or if they have a problem with missing or murdered Indigenous people,” she said.

Damienne Darby, communications lawyer for the British Columbia Prosecution Service, told the Tribune that the court has ordered various pre-sentence reports and that the sentencing hearing is scheduled to take place on June 3.

There is a publication ban on any testimony presented during the preliminary hearing, Darby confirmed.

With files from Black Press Media

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