SASKATOON — A Saskatchewan man who brutally attacked his ex-girlfriend in 2018 has been declared a dangerous offender for a second time. But instead of an indefinite prison term, he will serve just two more years.
Cory Smockum was sentenced in Saskatoon Court of King's Bench on May 8 following a joint submission from Crown prosecutor Elizabeth Addabor and defence lawyer Brian Pfefferle. Justice Daryl E. Labach accepted the joint submission, designating Smockum a dangerous offender and imposing a 4,876 day sentence, with 4,146 days credited for time already served. That leaves 730 days, or two years, left to serve, followed by a 10-year long-term supervision order.
A case spanning nearly a decade
Smockum pleaded guilty in January to attempted murder, nearly two years after the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal overturned his original 2020 conviction. The case stems from a 2018 attack in Hanley, where Smockum assaulted and attempted to kill his ex-girlfriend in a garage after a quad rally.
A jury convicted him of attempted murder in 2020, and he was declared a dangerous offender in 2022. But in 2024, the Court of Appeal ordered a new trial, citing a miscarriage of justice due to breaches of Smockum’s right to silence, inadmissible medical records, and the elicitation of bad character evidence.
Victim: ‘You did not take my life that night’
The victim read a scathing impact statement directly to Smockum before he was sentenced on May 8.
“Love does not have to hurt,” she said. “Many days I spent in my room depressed and angry that this happened to me at your hands, Cory.”
She said the Oct. 13, 2018, attack, “substantially changed every aspect of my life forever.”
She described how the attack left her with a traumatic brain injury, PTSD, depression, anxiety, and long-term sleep disturbances.
“These medical conditions were all triggered by my brain injury and the trauma you caused Cory,” she said, her anger evident as she said his name.
She said she no longer feels safe in her own home, has attempted suicide twice, and struggles with everyday activities she once loved.
She said even though she pleaded for her life that night, she “still got up every time” he knocked her down.
She spoke of her strength and resilience and by the end of her statement, she turned defiant.
“Do you hear me?” she said to Smockum. “I’m a warrior. You cannot take a warrior, I am here and you did not take my life that night.
“My life has completely changed because of you and I will say you’re a piece of [expletive]," she added. "I will not say your name anymore. I want you to know that you drastically changed my life but I’m on the road to recovery."
Justice Labach commended her courage for reading her statement to the court.
'She was going to die that night'
Warning: Some may find details disturbing.
Court previously heard the victim spent six days in hospital with broken ribs, a brain bleed, damage to her knees and stitches on her lip. She had a cut on the side of her head, black eyes, bruising and ear damage.
She testified at trial that Smockum kicked the garage door open, threw her on her face on the garage floor, closed the door, got on top of her and punched her continuously in the face with his fist and elbow. She said he called her names and threatened her.
She lost consciousness and when she came to, she said he was still hitting her and she was in a different spot in the garage. She was choked unconscious three times, she said.
He called her parents and told them to say goodbye to her because she was going to die that night in the river. He took her on the ATV and said no one was going to find her body and she would end up like Ashley Morin. Morin, who was friends with the victim, was last seen in North Battleford in July 2018. RCMP believe Morin, 31, is a victim of homicide but her body has never been found.
Smockum took the woman through a field to a grain elevator on the quad. He was going fast and flipped the ATV. He was under the quad and asked for help. At this point, she ran away and went to the grain elevator to find help and hide. The police found her there in the early hours of Oct. 14, 2018.
Smockum's criminal record includes a 2016 conviction. In 2015 Smockum was arrested by North Battleford RCMP and charged with sexual assault, assault and choking to overcome resistance. The choking charge was dropped and the assault and sexual assault charges were changed to assault causing bodily harm and sexual assault causing bodily harm, respectively. Smockum was found guilty of assault causing bodily harm. He was found not guilty of sexual assault causing bodily harm.
Psychiatric assessment: Progress, but limited insight
A report from forensic psychologist Dr. Shabehram Lohrasbe said that Smockum’s violence had decreased in recent years and that he has strong family support and employable skills. But Dr. Lohrasbe also found that Smockum lacked insight into his behaviour and needs help to make good judgments.
Smockum has completed high school and several institutional programs, including behavioural skills training. Defence argued he is now a “treated offender,” unlike at the time of his earlier dangerous offender designation.
"We are dealing with a much different individual," said Pfefferle. "It's not ignoring the previous record, but it is a fresh record."
Court heard that Smockum has stayed away from alcohol the last couple of years but in 2022 he was caught "brewing large quantitities of alcohol" while in custody.
Judge: ‘This sentence is a gift’
Justice Labach warned Smockum that he could have been given an indeterminate sentence.
“Mr. Smockum, this sentence that you've received today is a gift. You could very easily have been sentenced to an indeterminate sentence. And I certainly hope that you realize that.”
Justice Labach pointed out statements Smockum made to Dr. Lohrasbe, including acknowledging the harm he caused to the victim and expressing a desire to honour a promise to his late mother to stop drinking.
“If you are true to your word to your mother, you will honour that commitment you made to her before she passed.”
Along with the prison sentence and long-term supervision order, Smockum was ordered to provide his DNA for the National DNA Data Bank and was given a lifetime weapons prohibition.
