WARNING: This story contains graphic details of a homicide.
A judge has sentenced a man to life in prison, with no chance of parole for the next 11 years, in the 2024 killing of Alexander Lo, the brother of Kai-Ji Adam Lo who is accused of the Lapu-Lapu Day alleged car-ramming attack that killed 11 people.
Forty-one-year-old Dwight Kematch pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in July and in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver Friday, he acknowledged the “ripple effect” that the murder had on Lo’s brother.
Kai-Ji Adam Lo listened to the sentencing virtually, from a forensic hospital, according to Crown prosecutor Mark Myhre. The case of the alleged Lapu-Lapu Day attack has not yet been heard in court.
Kematch and Lo met through the dating app Grindr, according to the agreed statement of facts read out in court.
The two met at Kematch’s Vancouver house after midnight on Jan. 28, 2024.
The court heard that the pair went to Kematch’s room and started to have sex.
But “something set Kematch off,” according to the statement of facts, and Kematch, who was drunk, began assaulting Lo first with his fists, then with a hammer and later with a knife.
Lo’s roommates, his sister and brother-in-law, heard Lo yelling for help.
Kematch stopped only when his brother-in-law yelled to call the cops.
Police arrested Kematch, but Lo was unconscious and life-saving efforts were unsuccessful.
Myhre told the court Lo was vulnerable as a smaller man and described the offence as “absolutely brutal.”
He said Kematch had a “golden opportunity” to stop attacking Lo when his brother-in-law intervened and took away one of the weapons.
“He did not do that.”
In a joint sentencing submission, Myhre and defence lawyer Jim Heller called for a life sentence, which is mandatory for second-degree murder, with a chance for parole after 13 years minus time served.
Myhre said Kematch has a criminal record prior to 2004, including two convictions for killing and injuring an animal and arson.
Defence lawyer Jim Heller said Kematch’s life had been filled with tragedy and trauma, including physical and sexual abuse, deaths in the family and abandonment, in part due to the effects of colonization of Indigenous peoples.
Justice F. Matthew Kirchner agreed the proposed sentence was appropriate.
He described Kematch’s attack on Lo as “truly horrifying” but added there are aspects of Kematch’s work while incarcerated that show signs of humanity and hope for rehabilitation.
Lo’s mother, Lisa, said her son’s killing caused her physical and emotional trauma, according to a victim impact statement read out by Myhre.
She raised her two children as a single mom after her husband died in 2001, but after Lo’s death she attempted suicide and was hospitalized for three weeks.
Her statement said her younger son stayed by her side “day and night” and brought friends and family.
Lisa was diagnosed with depression and has been unable to work, which has caused financial challenges, it continued.
“I walked around as if everything in my life had collapsed … I am in unbearable pain.”
“Because of the offender’s actions, our family has been plunged into endless sorrow.”
Lo’s friend, Richard Hesketh, addressed Kematch in the courtroom.
Hesketh said Lo, who studied makeup and special effects, was kind and full of life.
“Alex was good energy. He lit up a room when he entered it. His smile was contagious and he valued his friends greatly.”
Lo’s murder has had a catastrophic impact, Hesketh said.
The judge added Kematch’s sister and brother-in-law expressed their world had been shattered by the incident.
Kematch described his life up to January 2024 as a “mix of alcoholism and self-hate” and acknowledged he was responsible for the violence.
“I stole a son from a beloved mother and a caring brother,” Kematch said, reading off a handwritten paper.
He apologized and said he understands the “causal effect” of the murder. He described the alleged Lapu-Lapu Day attack as “a ripple effect from what I did.”
The judge also prohibited Kematch from possessing firearms and various prohibited weapons for the rest of his life.
Lo’s brother Kai-Ji Adam is scheduled to appear in court in February relating to the alleged Lapu-Lapu Day attack.
