The man behind a February 2015 murder in La Ronge will serve a life sentence and can’t apply for parole for 14 years.
On Friday morning, 45-year-old Jonas Budd entered a guilty plea to second-degree murder for shooting 17-year-old Dustin Bird twice in the chest with a rifle and proceeding to kidnap Budd’s ex-girlfriend’s teen daughter Kayla Natomagan. Natomagan and Bird had been dating at the time.
Budd appeared conflicted as Justice Currie asked Budd if he understood what those pleas meant.
Things came to a head in the emotionally-charged courtroom just before lunch hour when a person in the gallery made a quiet statement and Budd lashed out, angrily kicked the door of his prisoner’s box – that’s the only thing separating him from the victims and their family members.
He asked for – and was granted – a five minute break and as soon as Budd was led into a separate room he was heard loudly yelling curse words.
Crown prosecutor Rob Mackenzie says in his long career, he’s never seen anyone in the prisoner’s box act like that regardless of how difficult the circumstances are.
“I have seen virtually all of them behave in a respectful, a quiet – sometimes upset – but always respectful and dignified way. We did not see that today. I think that speaks volumes about the accused,” Mackenzie said.
Earlier in the morning, court heard the facts of Budd’s case. On February 17, 2015 he posted on Facebook and got into his grey truck.
He drove to and broke into Hennie’s home while carrying a rifle, and found Bird in bed. Budd demanded to know where Hennie was before shooting and then grabbing Natomagan while threatening her with the rifle. Budd then left the home, with the teen girl in tow and told Hennie’s father George that Hennie had ruined his life.
Budd told Natomagan not to “do anything stupid” as he drove the teen to the Manitoba border before an RCMP officer noted his grey truck, which matched the description from the Amber Alert that had been activated across Canada.
Budd ended up holed up alone in a Sturgeon Landing home while the RCMP presence grew. Eventually, he surrendered.
On Friday, court heard those incidents were not the first time Budd took actions to “torture” his former partner and her family. Hennie first experienced Budd’s harassment and threats half a year before the events of Feburary 17, after their relationship ended.
Hennie delivered her victim impact statement with a quivering lower lip and shaky hands, pausing to wipe her nose.
She told Budd “you killed an innocent teenage boy for no reason,” adding that Budd didn’t know Bird at all.
Before that, Hennie had been scared Budd would harm her as he sent threatening messages. A few months after their split, he broke through her dead-bolted home and poured kerosene on her bed.
“I was so afraid to stay in my own home,” Hennie said as she described the insecurity she felt in the following months, losing trust for her own parents.
The events of February made Hennie realize how serious Budd’s previous threats had been, she said.
“You had ill intentions the entire time and acted on your insecurities and thoughts,” Hennie said, in a way that led two of her children to contemplate suicide and took away Hennie’s outgoing and positive nature.
Bird’s aunt Brenda and mother wrote victim impact statements, outlining how motivational he was to the people around him after turning his life around from minor brushes with the law earlier in life. Brenda told Budd she can’t forgive him for taking away her “pristine, beautiful” nephew.
After hearing all those statements, came Budd’s outburst. He told court “it’s very hard for me right now to keep my anger from showing.”
Before going to the break, he spoke at length. Budd said he would like a trial to reveal people’s “lies,” however none of what he mentioned related to his actions that night.
“I will say I’m sorry for my actions,” Budd said before going on to talk about threats he’s received since in prison, which he perceives to be related to Hennie and her family.
During sentencing submissions, defence lawyer Erin Little stated that if Budd can manage his feelings of paranoia and fear, he could successfully serve his sentence in the community.
Defence had been asking for parole eligibility in 11 years parole ineligibility and the Crown was asking for 15.