Nathan Landry found guilty of second-degree murder of Grande Prairie man in judge-alone trial

Дата публикации: 13-08-2026 15:08:37

Buchaski was found dead on December 4, 2023, in the Westside Park area – part of the Muskoseepi Park network and often used by the city's houseless.

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Nathan Landry is guilty of the second degree murder of Brian Buchaski in Grande Prairie in 2023.

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Justice Christopher Millsap delivered his decision on July 30, outlining the facts presented in the judge-only trial, witness testimony and his reasons the evidence held up to scrutiny.

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Buchaski was found dead on December 4, 2023, in the Westside Park area – part of the Muskoseepi Park network and often used by the city’s houseless. Groups of people would build their shelters within a short distance of one another in the area, creating small communities.

Buchaski’s body was found outside his tent under a blood-stained blanket. It was just weeks after his 34th birthday.

A medical examiner later determined he died by homicide. He had 10 chop wounds to his head; blunt force trauma to his face; and small puncture wounds. His attackers used a three-foot axe, smaller hatchet and a knife in the attack.

How long Buchaski was in the encampment is unknown, but his tent was within metres from his killer. The weather at the time was mild for Grande Prairie – temperatures moving above zero during the day. There was no snow on the ground when the attack happened.

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A memorial for Brian Buchaski remains at the site where he died in December 2023. Photo By: Nichol Buchaski

Like most of the northern city’s houseless population not using identified shelters, the community of rough sleepers were often ushered along. When site inspections would find encampments again, the cycle resumed.

Camille Willard was one of Buchaski’s neighbours, and lived about 25 metres away from him. They would visit each other often – almost daily, said Willard.

He also knew Landry to be living near Buchaski’s tent. Willard was also able to confirm in court that the accused had a hatchet and he’d watched him apply tape to the handle. Weapons were common among the houseless community, said Willard. They were needed for protection.

Remi Nault, an Apex Security Inc. employee whose task that day was to look for homeless encampments contravening city bylaws and tell people they had to move, was one of the last people to speak to Buchaski.

His body-worn camera even caught a conversation with Buchaski, although the latter wasn’t visible in the footage. As Nault walked to the next tent a small distance away, his camera also caught Landry’s image as he passed him.

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The video later confirmed what Landry had been wearing in the hours before Buchaski was killed – a Bench jacket over a red hoodie-sweater, dark pants and red athletic-style shoes.

The Crown relied heavily on witness Levi Dylan Harvey in its case. Charged with first degree murder in the same crime, the defense challenged his testimony saying he was only serving his own interests and had the advantage of having access to evidence disclosure before his testimony.

Millsap noted that Hopkins could have been motivated by self-interest and that his credibility could be negatively impacted by his prior criminal record – for crimes of dishonesty and inconsistencies in evidence – as well as his substance use at the time.

However, he added that while Hopkins was initially interviewed by police, and a subsequent cross-examination may have revealed some inconsistencies, none had related to how Buchaski died, the identification of Landry, or the timeline of events.

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Videos collected by investigators showing Landry, Brady Desorches-Smith and Levi Dylan Hopkins at Wapiti House, the Grande Prairie Friendship Centre and Save-on-Foods established a timeline, provided evidence of different attire, and proved to strengthen the case against Landry.

Hopkins, also facing a first-degree murder charge, was a primary witness for the prosecution. If it were a jury trial, he would have had to caution them with a Vetrovec warning, said Millsap.

“It would be an error to not exercise caution when assessing his evidence,” he said. “Similarly, it would be an error to simply reject his evidence without a proper consideration of whether the credibility and reliability concerns that exist can be mitigated, such that his evidence can be relied upon.

“Independent evidence that supports or corroborates his evidence may serve to strengthen the reliability of his evidence such that it can be safely relied upon by the Court.”

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Specifically, Hopkins described where and when the murder happened, whether Landry was at the scene and if he participated in the homicide.

“It would be incredibly difficult for someone to give uncontroverted and indeed, factually corroborated details about these three elements if they were not present,” Millsap said.

He added Hopkins’ testimony mostly aligned with evidence collected throughout the investigation.

Hopkins described how he came to be in the city to participate in an addiction treatment plan at the Rising Above facility, from which he was later released because of a conflict at the facility. Having no money or identification, he went over Wapititi House for help. That’s where he allegedly met Desroches-Smith.

On the night of December 3, 2023, Hopkins was allegedly with Desroches-Smith. They saw Landry. He was upset about his bluetooth speaker and encounter with “by-law”, which meant he had to move camp.

They offered to help and they walked to the camp to pack it up.

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Buchaski, who Hopkins said likely was woken up by their presence, ended up arguing with Landry about the missing speaker. When Buchaski left the tent, Landry and Desroches-Smith allegedly went in to search the tent.

Hopkins testified that the two men came out of the tent, both armed, and an altercation ensued with Buchaski. Hopkins testified that Landry was armed with an axe and hit Buchaski in the head with it. Court heard Landry also stabbed Buchaski and then hit him with the axe again.

Hopkins described hearing the crunch when Landry swung an axe and hit Buchaski in the head. He finished his account saying the the ambush continued as Landry used a knife to stab at Buchaski and then picked up the axe and struck him with it again.

Both men jumped and stomped on Buchaski.

Following the attack, video camera evidence collected by investigators would confirm their movements and activities at various points from early morning on December 4, 2023, to late morning.

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Millsap found that the three men went to the encampment to pack up Landry’s items when an altercation happened and Landry struck Buchaski at least once with an axe or hatchet.

Secondly, Landry tried hiding evidence by changing his footwear and jacket, and finally, that the Crown proved all the elements of a second-degree murder beyond a reasonable doubt.

“I find that Mr. Landry intended on killing Mr. Buchaski when he struck him,” he said.

Landry is expected to be sentenced in Grande Prairie Court of King’s Bench later this year.

Hopkins is due to appear back in court in Grande Prairie Court of King’s Bench on October 15 for sentencing.

Desroches-Smith’s first degree jury trial is scheduled to begin November 13 in Grande Prairie.

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TKennedy@postmedia.com

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