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Nanaimo man sentenced to life in prison for Brentwood Bay murder

Alan Charles Chapman will not be eligible for parole for 18 years
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Emily Caruana pictured at the Royal BC Museum on the day of her murder, May 10, 2019. (Courtesy of John Caruana)

Allan Charles Chapman, 50, was sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 18 years for the 2019 Brentwood Bay murder of 20-year-old Emily Caruana.

Chapman, who was sentenced in Victoria on Monday (Nov. 14), was also given two seven-year sentences for the aggravated assaults of Justin Booth and John Caruana. Those sentences will be served concurrently with the life sentence. The court also ordered a lifetime firearm prohibition.

On May 10, 2019, Chapman broke into Caruana’s grandmother’s house in Brentwood Bay and stabbed Caruana to death during a drug-fuelled rage, believing her to be somebody else, according to admissions of facts read in the courtroom on Monday.

Chapman also stabbed Booth and John, leaving both with serious injuries which required multiple surgeries and extended hospital stays.

“Emily was an innocent young woman, who in no way, was known to the man who so brutally took her life. She deeply touched the lives of many people, both friends and family, and her loss has been devastating to all of us. Her mother, Ivy, will never recover from this and our focus is to support her in any way we can,” said Christine Ottewell, Caruana’s aunt, while reading a statement outside the courthouse.

Chapman had travelled from Nanaimo to Central Saanich in order to confront another person – who cannot be identified due to a publication ban.

He broke into the Central Saanich home where Caruana’s grandmother lived and where the three victims were visiting. Chapman grabbed a knife and went upstairs to the bedroom where Booth and Caruana had locked the door. John tried to stop Chapman, who stabbed him multiple times. Chapman then broke into the bedroom, stabbing Booth multiple times before turning on Caruana.

He fled over the Malahat, where police engaged him in a high-speed chase before he was stopped with a spike strip and arrested.

READ MORE: Judge hears graphic details of Brentwood Bay murder during sentencing hearing


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bailey.moreton@goldstreamgazette.com

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