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One of the three people responsible for a gruesome 2024 Saskatoon homicide has been sentenced to 20 years behind bars on charges of manslaughter and indignity to human remains.
Edin Vrazalica received his sentence Justice Richard Danyliuk calling the crime “absolutely abhorrent.” Vrazalica is one of three who have pleaded guilty for playing a role in Perkins’ death.
Crown prosecutor Cory Bliss said it is evident from what the judge had to say while giving his sentence that this case is about more than a death.
“It’s very rare in the Crown’s experience to hear a judge speak so strongly and frankly calling this an atrocity, referring to Mr. Vrazalica as monstrous, referencing his cowardice for not even watching the terrible things he did when they were displayed in the courtroom,” said Bliss.
“The judge basically pointed to Mr. Vrazalica as the ringleader based on everything he had been shown. Certainly that’s always been the Crown’s view, unfortunately, we have limitations in what we can present to the court by way of witnesses.”
The courtroom heard tearful victim impact statements from Perkins’ family before the judge’s decision.
Perkins’ mother Nannette Perkins said it feels like she has her own “life sentence of having the horror that happened to Lee replaying in [her] brain.”
She says she cautioned Perkins about befriending Vrazalica when they met in the spring of 2022.
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Perkins’ sister-in-law, Natasha Perkins, said she is left questioning how humanity could fall so far into the depths of its own evil.
His father, Cameron Perkins, said he thinks no one who butchers another human should be allowed to walk in public again.
The agreed facts of the case show Vrazalica, as well as co-accused Dillon Singler and Chantel McLaren, were trafficking drugs from Vancouver to Saskatoon in 2024.
Saskatoon Police Service officers responded to a disturbance call at 610 Lisgar Ave. on Feb. 1, 2024, and found Perkins intoxicated and seemingly unharmed. Some drugs matching those the accused were trafficking were seized, but police did not arrest Perkins
Snapchat videos from later in the day showed Perkins on the ground beaten and covered in blood with Vrazalica cutting off four of his fingers over the missing drugs.
Bliss says Vrazalica was also angry with Perkins, thinking he gave some pills to McLaren, Vrazalica’s girlfriend at the time.
The next day, Vrazalica and McLaren were seen on security camera video purchasing cleaning supplies and large plastic containers.
On Feb. 2, 2024, police received an anonymous report of Vrazalica assaulting an unknown male and proceeded to stake out the same address they previously attended.
McLaren and another woman were arrested trying to escape and Vrazalica was shot by police after sprinting out of the house holding what is described as a cylindrical object.
Police found Perkins’ remains wrapped in plastic inside of a plastic container on top of a tarp.
The autopsy found Perkins died of blood loss from a large slash to his throat.
The following investigation showed significant amounts of blood present in the home in the areas Snapchat videos showed Perkins being assaulted.
Crime scene photos showed blood spatters on an overhead light and remnants of blood covering the floors and walls despite being cleaned.
Police photos also show another container filled with multiple bloody knives and cleaning supplies, as well as cleaning supplies left out next to a Christmas tree with children’s toys underneath.
Vrazalica’s defence lawyer Chris Murphy says the case left him emotional and critical of the current plans from all levels of government to manage the sale and use of drugs.
“The downstream effects of drugs on the community is so dire that it’s impossible to comprehend until you have a day like you have today,” said Murphy.
“They’re just trying to pick off issues one at a time, pick off drug dealers one at a time, and I can guarantee you from what I’ve seen in the last six years since I moved back to Saskatoon that this is not going to work long term.”
The Crown is not seeking a dangerous offender designation for Vrazalica.
McLaren is still awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to accessory after the fact.
Singler also pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is awaiting sentencing as well as a hearing for a dangerous offender designation.
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