LLOYDMINSTER — A Lloydminster man has lost his bid for leave to appeal his life prison sentence to Canada's highest court.
On June 18, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed Lance Littlewolfe’s application for leave to appeal a September 2025 ruling of the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal. That earlier ruling had already rejected both his conviction and sentence appeals, upholding his life sentence with no parole eligibility for seven years.
The case stems from a 2021 fatal stabbing. Littlewolfe was initially charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Daxon Hornick-Schmidt, but he later pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter.
According to court documents, on the afternoon of April 17, 2021, Littlewolfe had gone to a trap house in Lloydminster with either heroin or methamphetamine. Hornick-Schmidt arrived shortly after, and the two men shared a drug pipe near the home’s front step. When an occupant yelled at both of them, Hornick-Schmidt walked away, taking Littlewolfe’s meth pipe with him. Littlewolfe chased after him, and when he caught up, he pulled a knife and stabbed Hornick-Schmidt twice. One stab to Hornick-Schmidt’s back pierced his lung and punctured his aortic artery.
After fleeing, Littlewolfe threw the knife in a backyard. Two days later, RCMP dog teams recovered it following an extensive search guided by video surveillance that had tracked Littlewolfe’s escape route. The weapon was a kitchen knife with a six-inch blade, and it tested positive for Hornick-Schmidt’s blood.
Right after the stabbing, Littlewolfe went to a men's shelter and confessed to stabbing someone who had died, but claimed “it was an accident.” He then asked for a ride to Onion Lake, but was refused.
On April 19, 2021, Littlewolfe walked into the Lloydminster RCMP detachment and told front-counter staff that he thought police were looking for him. At that point, however, Littlewolfe wasn’t a suspect, reveal court documents.
An officer, who knew about Littlewolfe’s mental health issues, drove him to the Lloydminster hospital, where he was held under the Mental Health Act, received treatment, and later 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.
In December 2021, Littlewolfe pleaded guilty to manslaughter as part of a joint submission between the Crown and defence. As part of the deal, the Crown agreed not to pursue a dangerous offender application, which could have resulted in an indefinite sentence.
In September 2024, Littlewolfe appealed claiming that he misunderstood the plea’s consequences, specifically, that he had believed it would lead to a finding of not criminally responsible due a mental disorder. But the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal rejected that argument in September 2025, dismissing the conviction appeal.
During the sentencing hearing, 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.
