Life sentences of teenage killers in death of Surrey mechanic overturned – BC

Life sentences of two teenagers convicted in the murder of a well-known mechanic in Surrey are overturned.

Paul Prestbakmo was stabbed to death near the Semiahmoo Center on August 16, 2019.

The well-known mechanic was on his way to McDonald’s to grab a pop when he was stabbed.

He was stabbed 42 times in 26 seconds.

The teenagers, who were 15 and 16 at the time, were found guilty of second-degree murder.

They were later convicted as adults and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for at least seven years.

However, on Friday the teenagers won an appeal and had their sentences returned to the maximum allowed under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, which is seven years, including four in custody.

“I believe now it’s more of a slap on the wrist,” Elizabeth Prestbakmo, Paul’s sister, told Global News on Monday.

“People who have committed other crimes will now use the system to appeal.”

Elizabeth said her brother was a kind and generous man.

“He was a very giving man, he was gentle, he was kind, he would do anything for his friends, he was very loyal,” she said.

Elizabeth believes her brother’s killers will be released into the community in November – four years after they were first convicted.

The appeal court’s decision is rooted in a Supreme Court of Canada decision from last July, Rex v. IM, which overturned an adult sentence imposed on a youth who had been convicted of first-degree murder.

The court ruled that the Crown had failed to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the youth had the maturity of an adult when the crime was committed.

–with file from Rumina Daya

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.