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Seven years for beating friend to death at drinking party

By: Mike McIntyre

Thursday, May. 17, 2012 at 7:32 AM | Comments: 0

IT was supposed to be a fun-filled long weekend in Winnipeg. But the addition of alcohol -- lots of it -- quickly turned the mood from festive to tragic.

Arnold Harper, 33, pleaded guilty to manslaughter Wednesday for beating his friend to death during a May 2011 party at a downtown hotel. Leslie Okemow, 29, suffered extensive head trauma as a result of the attack inside a suite at the St. Regis Hotel.

"I am deeply sorry. He was a friend of mine. I don't know how this happened," a tearful Harper told court. He was sentenced to seven years in prison, in addition to one year of pretrial custody, under a joint recommendation.

Defence lawyer John Corona said the case is an example of the effect alcohol has on society.

"I don't think it's a stretch to say but for the drinking, this wouldn't have happened," said Corona. "We're here on yet another tragic alcohol-related death. Sometimes I just shake my head."

Crown attorney Tim Chudy said it's unclear why an argument erupted between Harper and Okemow, as everyone in the hotel suite at the time was either passed out or too intoxicated to remember the details.

"The fight was one-sided. Mr. Harper absolutely got the better of it," said Chudy. Okemow would have struggled to defend himself since his blood-alcohol level was more than triple the legal drinking limit. Okemow's body was found the following morning by a housekeeper, who didn't initially realize he was dead, court was told. Okemow was slumped in a chair, covered in blood. Nearly 50 empty beer bottles were scattered around him. Harper and others continued partying in another area of the hotel, oblivious to the fact Okemow's life was slipping away.

Both men have tragic histories.

Harper grew up in a home "rife with alcoholism" and was physically and sexually abused as a child in Red Sucker Lake, according to his lawyer. He bounced around more than a dozen foster homes and is the father of three young children himself.

Okemow had moved to Winnipeg from Gods Lake Narrows only weeks earlier after his brother, George Okemow, was killed in an arson fire New Year's Day, 2010.

www.mikeoncrime.com

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