Kaj Alexander Randall was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to second degree murder and aggravated assault last week in the stabbing of a St. Albert teen last summer.
Randall appeared in court last Thursday (Aug. 7) to make the plea and address the family of the 17-year-old girl he killed and her 13-year-old cousin that he maimed.
On July 18, 2024 RCMP were called to the Riverside community in St. Albert, where they had found two girls who had suffered from multiple stab wounds. Randall, 29, was found two days later and arrested by the RCMP.
Randall was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole after 12 years and a lifetime firearm ban after a joint submission made by the Crown and the defence.
According to the Edmonton Journal, court heard Randall, who had used cocaine earlier that day in his St. Albert home that he shared with his common-law partner and her daughter, Brooklyn Janes.
He attacked Jaeden Chaisson, stabbing her 21 times, before targeting her cousin, Janes, who suffered 12 stab wounds. Chaisson went into cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital and was later removed from life support after multiple surgeries. Janes survived but was left with serious injuries.
In her victim impact statement, Nicole Chaisson, Jaeden’s mother, said she couldn’t hold her daughter's hands as her life slipped away, as they were so badly injured and that she will spend more years missing her than getting to spend with her, according to the Journal.
Randall has a history of violent crimes. In 2016, he broke into a family's house while they were sleeping. He went upstairs and stabbed a pregnant woman three times in the back; at the time, the couple's children were also in the home.
During this incident, he also got into a physical altercation with a male victim in the house, and the victim needed stitches as a result.
The stabbing was described as the "direct result" of a $15,000 drug debt that Randall accumulated while selling cocaine, according to the 2022 parole board decision. However, it does not clarify whether Randall had any personal ties to the victims.
Conservative MP for St. Albert–Sturgeon River, Michael Cooper said the case highlights flaws in Canada’s parole system.
“This murderer is an extremely violent and dangerous individual who's perpetrated a horrific crime against children, and he needs to serve a very long time behind bars,” Cooper said. “A murder conviction equals an automatic life sentence. Life should mean life behind bars. It shouldn’t mean that convicted murderers can apply for parole year after year, causing stress and trauma for victims’ families.”
Cooper said he plans to continue championing legislation, known as Brian’s Bill, which would prevent convicted murderers from applying for parole.
“This legislation would apply to the likes of Randall because it would amend the corrections and conditional release act so that convicted murderers will not be able to apply for parole.”
Cooper explained that Brian's Bill would prevent offenders like Randall from applying for parole year after year after he is considered for parole in 12 years.
“He'll be eligible to be considered for parole after 12 years, if the parole board turns him down at that time, my bill would provide that he wouldn't be able to apply for parole [soon after],” he said. “The next opportunity for his parole to be considered would be at the time of the statutory review, which occurs approximately every five years.”
He said that this will prevent further retraumatization for the victims and their families.
“As it stands now, under the corrections and conditional release act, if a murderer like Randall were denied parole at 12 years then he could apply every year thereafter, which would result in frequent parole hearings,” said Cooper. “Retraumatizing the families, friends and loved ones of murder victims.”
He added that he believes this is a loophole in the justice system that needs to be corrected.
“It’s a common sense change to the corrections and conditional release act to close what I think amounts to a loophole in the system that is frequently taken advantage of and abused by, frankly, the worst of the worst, in terms of convicted murderers,” said Cooper.
Cooper said that the crime has had a broader impact on St. Albert.
“It has had a broader impact on the community. The fact that this heinous crime occurred in our community, it's made people feel a little less safe,” Cooper said.
NDP MLA for St. Albert Marie Renaud said she was glad to see the case resolved without delay.
“I’m glad that a dangerous person is in jail. I still feel horrible for the surviving young person and their family, and also the other family that lost [someone],” Renaud said. “So it’s just overall horrible.”
UCP MLA for Morinville-St. Albert Dale Nally called the case “abhorrent” and said Randall “should never have been out,” given his history.
“A life sentence that allows for parole in 12 years is just too little for a violent offender, like a repeat violent offender, like this man,” said Nally.
