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Lethbridge Woman Gets 10-Years for Manslaughter

Jun 27, 2016 | 1:06 PM

LETHBRIDGE – A 22-year old Lethbridge woman is heading to prison for the next eight years (with credit for pre-trial custody), after pleading guilty to a charge of manslaughter and aggravated assault, Monday morning.

The plea was somewhat surprising, as Julie-Ann Nicky Agerskov was expected to set a trial date on a charge of first degree murder.

In the early morning hours of February 23, 2015, Agerskov and another individual had been at the home of an acquaintance – consuming drugs and alcohol – when 43-year old Katheline Amber Buck arrived and provided crack cocaine. Agerskov believed Buck had stolen property from her a few weeks earlier, and started texting with the other individual, saying she was going to rob Buck.

Agerskov obtained a knife from the kitchen, and when Buck went to leave the house she positioned herself in the door and demanded drugs. Buck swung a chair at Agerskov and lost it, at which point Agerskov came at her with the knife. During the struggle the other person tried to intervene, but received a substantial cut to his arm and left. Agerskov proceeded to stab Buck 13 times, and left her screaming for help in a pool of her own blood. The homeowner came out to find Agerskov running from the property and called 911, however Buck was pronounced dead at the scene when emergency crews arrived.

Agerskov was arrested during a traffic stop a short time later, and ended up giving police a full confession and even did a re-enactment of the crime.

Defence lawyer, Allan Fay, told the court that Agerskov was physically and sexually abused as a child, and that she has shown a great deal of remorse for her actions. He added that she plans to seek help for addictions issues and anger management.

When asked if she had anything to say, Agerskov stated, “I am really, truly sorry… No amount of sorries will bring her back.”

The judge ended up agreeing with a joint submission presented by the Crown and defence of 10-years in prison for the manslaughter charge, with one year to be served concurrently for the stab wound to the other individual. She was also given a credit of 1.5 for the 16 months she served in pre-trial custody, taking a total of two years off her sentence.