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A Saint John man convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in the 2025 stabbing deaths of his sons, aged 10 and 17, is scheduled to be sentenced today.
Roman Kamyshnyy, 46, is due to appear in Saint John Court of King’s Bench at 11 a.m.
A jury found Kamyshnyy guilty on June 24, after only a couple of hours of deliberations over two days.
The Crown argued the murders were “driven by vengeance” and designed to punish his ex-wife, the boys’ mother, for her alleged infidelity.
She had divorced him just two months prior and was in Ottawa for a work conference the day of the killings, the court heard.
A publication ban still prohibits naming the woman, identified only as Witness A, as well as the victims, identified as A.B. and C.D. But CBC News can now report all of the relationships involved in this case of domestic violence.
Court may hear victim impact statements
Witness A and others were given the opportunity to submit victim impact statements for sentencing. When Kamyshnyy was found guilty, Crown prosecutor Chris Ryan indicated that these could include first responders.
First-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence with no possibility of parole for 25 years.
A 46-year-old man convicted in June of killing his two sons will be sentenced Thursday in Saint John court. A jury found Roman Kamyshnyy guilty of two counts of first-degree murder. The Crown alleged the murders were an act of vengeance against his ex-wife, the children’s mother. Warning: This story contains graphic details of domestic violence.
While each charge carries that sentence, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 2022 that consecutive parole ineligibility periods are unconstitutional and must be served concurrently.
In the historic decision, the nine justices unanimously struck down a section of the Criminal Code that allowed sentencing judges to stack 25-year blocks of parole ineligibility for people convicted of multiple murders, leading to incarceration times of 50 or more years, saying it violated Section 12 of the Charter against cruel and unusual punishment.
23 Crown witnesses testified at 2-week trial
Saint John police found the bodies of the boy and teen inside a barricaded apartment in Millidgeville, in the north end, on Jan. 29, 2025, at 7:18 a.m., responding to a 911 call from the eldest victim.
Both victims suffered multiple stab wounds to their front and back from knives matching a Cuisinart set in the kitchen.
Officers also found Kamyshnyy, who had shot himself in the head twice with a nail gun in an attempted suicide, the court heard.
According to the Crown’s case, Kamyshnyy stabbed the youngest in bed while he slept, then attacked the teen, killing him on the kitchen floor.
He had planned the murders for at least eight days, prosecutors argued.
The trial lasted two weeks and heard from 23 Crown witnesses, including Witness A.
Kamyshnyy also testified in his own defence. He denied he planned the killings but said he did not remember what happened that day.
