Sioux Valley man given eight years for slaying half-sister

A Sioux Valley Dakota Nation man has been sentenced to eight years behind bars for fatally stabbing his half-sister in 2022.

Ernest Michael Blacksmith, 23, pleaded guilty last year to manslaughter in the death of 30-year-old Aimee-Jo Antoine. Justice Scott Abel delivered his sentence in Brandon’s Court of King’s Bench on Tuesday.

The Crown had recommended a sentence of 10 years, while defence argued for a time-served sentence, which is the equivalent of about five years and three months.

“The circumstances surrounding this offence are tragic,” Abel said.

Blacksmith and Antoine lived with their mother, Penny, in Sioux Valley and were at her house on Nov. 19, 2022. They had been drinking all day, and Penny decided to go to bed.

“She awoke to the sound of screaming,” Abel said. “The mother found the victim on the couch with her legs positioned in front of her. The offender was in front of the couch, yelling at the victim, holding a knife in his right hand.”

Blacksmith then stabbed Antoine with a knife several times, while yelling at her and their mother, who was trying to position herself in front of Antoine, court heard.

The mother called police, and officers found Blacksmith standing in the driveway and Antoine unconscious inside with a “significant” amount of blood on the floor, Abel said.

RCMP and Emergency Medical Services couldn’t resuscitate Antoine.

An autopsy confirmed multiple sharp-force injuries caused Antoine’s death, Abel said. She had seven stab wounds, including one to her femoral artery and vein on her right thigh.

Abel said two videos were recovered from Blacksmith’s phone — one of the mother with her body draped over the victim and another of her cradling Antoine’s head.

Blacksmith said he had no recollection of what happened that evening or why he would have taken videos, Abel said.

“He expressed remorse and a desire to financially care for his sister’s children, as he feels responsible that they do not have a mother,” he said.

The death of Blacksmith’s father, who was an Indian Day School survivor, in 2019, has “greatly impacted the offender,” the judge said. Court heard his grandparents were residential school survivors.

“I am also struck and saddened with the tragedy of the circumstances of this offence,” Abel said. “The offender in the pre-sentence report speaks of the impact his own father’s death had on him. Now, because of his actions, his sister’s children will grow up without the love and guidance of their mother.”

Abel said the primary sentencing objectives for manslaughter are denunciation and deterrence, and if the offence involves the abuse of a vulnerable person, including Indigenous women, those objectives are emphasized.

While he noted that Blacksmith is Indigenous and has Gladue factors, he said in these circumstances, “the focus is more on the act rather than the actor.”

“In considering the gravity of the offence, it was high. The offender, with the intentional application of force, killed his sister in their home in front of their mother,” he said.

Despite Blacksmith having no recollection of his actions, Abel said with the use of a knife and the number of stab wounds, Blacksmith knew or must have known there was a risk of serious bodily injury.

He found Blacksmith’s degree of responsibility was in the middle to high-end range.

Abel said it’s also important that the sentence sent a message to the community of Sioux Valley.

“The residents of Sioux Valley Dakota Nation have a right to feel safe and be safe in their community and in their homes,” he said. “The sentence imposed … ought to communicate the importance of that right of safety and security.”

The more than five years of time Blacksmith has to his credit will be deducted from his sentence.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com