A Chilliwack man was sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 12 years for the 2022 murder of 64-year-old Holbert Tew in Mission.
Matthew Bauer was sentenced on Thursday (June 19) at B.C. Supreme Court in Abbotsford after he was found guilty of second-degree murder in Feburary.
The trial began Jan. 13 and wrapped up with closing submissions on Feb. 25 before the jury came to a decision.
The charges stem from a fatal stabbing on Dec. 14, 2022 at a Fourth Avenue residence in Mission near Mary Street at approximately 7 a.m.
"This was a senseless and unprovoked attack that resulted in the loss of Mr. Tew, an innocent man," IHIT Sgt. Freda Fong said in a news release.
Holbert “Holly” Tew was living with his brother David in a longtime family residence in Mission at the time of the stabbing.
At the beginning of the trial, the Crown told the jury that Holbert fell asleep on a couch in the living room on the day of his death. David Tew was awoken in the basement suite by loud noises and saw a man unknown to him standing at the top of the stairs. During a confrontation with Bauer, he saw his brother emerge, per the Crown.
Holbert had been stabbed four times with wounds to the head, neck and back.
The Crown said David grappled with the man, and they fell, with both men biting each other in the struggle as well. The younger man gained the upper hand and David got away to call 911, per the opening remarks.
First responders attempted life-saving efforts, but Holbert was pronounced dead on the scene.
At the time, investigators from RCMP’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) identified 27-year-old Bauer as a suspect and arrested him on Jan. 6, with a second-degree murder charge coming the following day.
Bauer previously pleaded not guilty to the charge and elected to be tried by jury. During closing submissions, the defence asked the jury to find Bauer guilty of manslaughter.
The defence said there was no dispute that Bauer was using a significant amount of meth and he was not in a state that made him appreciate his surroundings. According to the closing submissions, Bauer was seeing “shadow people” and thought Holbert Tew had a gun.
The Crown prosecutor said the case was tragic for Holbert Tew, his brother David who confronted Bauer and testified in the trial, and even Bauer himself.
He said at its core, it’s a simple case – Bauer chose to break into the Tews’ home after using meth with the intent to steal things to pawn for money and became fearful of the sleeping Holbert after entering.
The Crown added that the information on Bauer’s meth use on the day of the incident was wildly inconsistent and unreliable. Bauer’s recollections on the amount of meth he consumed ranged to as high as 42 grams.
Bauer unreasonably believed that Tew was a mortal threat, the Crown said. Bauer told police and testified to the jury that he had a fight or flight response. He also testified that he remembered stabbing Tew, “bam, right in the head” but only remembered stabbing him once.
The Crown argued Bauer formed the intent for murder in choosing to fight, not using brass knuckles in his pocket or items from the living room, and creeping to the kitchen to find a knife.
