LLOYDMINSTER – By pleading guilty to manslaughter, Lance Dwayne Littlewolfe avoided the possibility of being designated a dangerous offender and potentially spending an indefinite amount of time behind bars without parole. But nearly four years later, he tried to walk back that deal, arguing his plea was misinformed and his sentence unjust.
The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, however, dismissed his conviction and sentence appeals, upholding his life sentence with no parole eligibility for seven years.
Littlewolfe was initially charged with second-degree murder in the 2021 stabbing death of Daxon Hornick-Schmidt. The charges stemmed from an incident where Lloydminster RCMP had responded to a call of a deceased man on a sidewalk on 50 Avenue. The man was identified as Hornick-Schmidt.
Doing drugs at a trap house
Court documents reveal that on the afternoon of April 17, 2021, Littlewolfe had gone to a trap house in Lloydminster with either heroin or methamphetamine. He and Hornick-Schmidt, who arrived shortly after, shared a pipe filled with drugs near the front step of the home. Both men were yelled at by one of the occupants and Hornick-Schmidt walked away, taking Littlewolfe’s meth pipe with him. Littlewolfe ran after Hornick-Schmidt. When he caught up to him he pulled a knife and stabbed Hornick-Schmidt twice. One stab in Hornick-Schmidt’s back penetrated his lung and punctured his aortic artery.
After fleeing the scene, Littlewolfe threw the knife in a backyard where it was recovered by RCMP dog teams two days later following an extensive search that was guided by canvassing video surveillance, which captured Littlewolfe’s path of travel after he fled.
The recovered weapon was a kitchen knife with a six-inch blade. The blade tested positive for Hornick-Schmidt’s blood.
Littlewolfe went to a men’s shelter and confessed to stabbing a person, who had died, claiming “it was an accident.” He then asked someone for a ride to Onion Lake, but his request was declined.
Littlewolfe goes to police station
On April 19, Littlewolfe went to the Lloydminster RCMP detachment and told staff at the front counter that he thought the police were looking for him. At this point, however, Littlewolfe wasn’t a suspect, reveal court documents.
An officer, who was familiar with Littlewolfe’s mental health issues, drove him to the Lloydminster hospital, where he was held under the Mental Health Act and given treatment before being transferred to the Mental Health Centre at the Battlefords Union Hospital.
A psychiatrist deemed Littlewolfe fit and he was arrested after he was released from hospital.
Littlewolfe appeals
In December 2021, Littlewolfe pleaded guilty to manslaughter as part of a joint submission between the Crown and defence. In exchange, the Crown agreed not to pursue a dangerous offender application, which could have resulted in an indeterminate sentence.
In September 2024, Littlewolfe appealed claiming that he misunderstood the plea’s consequences, believing it would lead to a finding of not criminally responsible due to mental disorder.
But approximately a week ago, the Court of Appeal rejected those arguments. The court unanimously dismissed the conviction appeal. However, while Justices Robert W. Leurer and Neal W. Caldwell also dismissed the sentence appeal, Madam Justice Georgina R. Jackson dissented on that point.
Chief Justice Leurer wrote in his Sept. 25 written decision, that trial counsel had clearly explained the sentencing options, including the risk of a dangerous offender designation.
“The quid pro quo it demanded to avoid this outcome, to which Mr. Littlewolfe agreed to, was a guilty plea to manslaughter and a life sentence,” said Chief Justice Leurer.
The original sentencing judge also weighed the risks and circumstances. In his decision, he acknowledged both the aggravating and mitigating factors, including Littlewolfe’s violent criminal history and high risk to reoffend.
“The circumstances of this offence and of Mr. Littlewolfe warrant a life sentence,” said the judge. “As well, preventative detention is required to prevent another offence by Mr. Littlewolfe in order to protect the public from the dangerousness that he presents based on the materials that are provided to me.”
The sentencing judge also recognized Littlewolfe’s early acceptance of responsibility and his traumatic upbringing. He cited severe childhood abuse, poverty, substance exposure, and involvement in the child welfare system as mitigating Gladue factors. Diagnoses of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, schizophrenia, and substance abuse disorder were also considered.
“They are extreme and severe in these personal circumstances,” said the sentencing judge, adding that Littlewolfe had shown some responsiveness to rehabilitation efforts.
His family are residential school survivors. Littlewolfe grew up in extreme poverty on Onion Lake Cree Nation. He slept on the floor without blankets and was given minimal food.
He never felt like he belonged anywhere so he joined a street gang.
Victim’s mother forgives
During sentencing, Hornick-Schmidt’s mother said she forgave Littlewolfe. Moved by her words, Littlewolfe asked his lawyer to ensure the victim’s mother knew he had apologized after hearing her forgiveness.
An obituary for Hornick-Schmidt described him as having “a soft and tender heart, spreading love and light wherever he travelled.” The North Battleford native had attended schools in the United States, Canada, and Germany, was fluent in German, and had attended Lakeland College in Lloydminster to further his writing skills. He had previously worked at the Boys and Girls Club in North Battleford.
