Woman thinks of herself as 'a monster' for fatally shooting boyfriend
Cheyanne Metatawabin, 31, pleaded not guilty to manslaughter but guilty to the lesser offence of criminal negligence causing death
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Cheyanne Metatawabin said she fears she is “a monster.”
“Every day, I think of myself as a monster because I know what it’s like to have your precious baby taken away. I’m sorry that that day had happened,” she said to the family of Levi Jordan Brown, who was her boyfriend at the time of his death on March 19, 2023.
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They hadn’t known each other long but she said they “really cared about each other” and she had promised him she wouldn’t hurt him. She ended up firing the gun that killed him.
“I ended up breaking that promise and I’m sorry I took your loved one away,” she said. “And I wish I could do anything, say anything, to bring that back, but I can’t and all I can do is say I’m sorry and I’m hoping you forgive me one day. But I probably won’t forgive myself.”
Brown’s grieving mother Michele and his extended family were in the courtroom. His mother listened intently and exhaled.
On Thursday, Metatawabin, 31, pleaded not guilty to manslaughter but guilty to the lesser offence of criminal negligence causing death for the bizarre and tragic killing of the London man known as “Irish.”
But Brown, his death and more than two years of incarceration may have been Metatawabin’s turning point. Her lawyer Geoff Snow told Superior Court Justice Patricia Brown at her guilty plea and sentencing hearing, that “now something has happened where someone she loved is gone because of this.”
Assistant Crown attorney Vanessa Decker read into the record an agreed statement of facts surrounding Brown’s death.
Brown, Metatawabin and a woman were inside Christian Williams’ Baseline Road apartment that morning. The woman would later tell police she was only there to retrieve her belongings, but Brown told her she had to stay “because this concerns you, too.”
“When (the woman) inquired what concerned her, Levi said, ‘You’ll see,’ ” Decker said.
Brown and Metatawabin spoke quietly to each other, and Brown was overheard asking Metatawabin if she recalled what they had talked about in the past. Brown produced a handgun from under the coffee table.
Williams testified at the preliminary hearing he saw Brown put the gun to his chin but ended up handing it to Metatawabin. Decker quoted what Williams said: “He told her to hold the gun up to him and shoot him. He used the words, ‘Now point it at me and pull the trigger.’”
Then, Brown dropped in the chair. Neither Williams nor the woman believed Metatawabin shot Brown on purpose and didn’t think he would be injured. It wasn’t clear at the time the gun was real and loaded.
The woman told police Brown had a wound to his forehead, but was still breathing when the three of them left the apartment. Williams returned later and retrieved a large blue recycling bin from the garage room.
Surveillance cameras caught him pushing the container that contained Brown’s body, wrapped in a red sleeping bag, to a nearby creek.
Witnesses saw the bin in the creek during the next six days. It was a cyclist who ended up calling the police after noticing something wrapped in red material that looked like a body and a recycling container near it.
A year ago, Williams pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact of manslaughter and was sentenced to 2½ years.
Metatawabin has been in custody since her arrest and with enhanced credit, has served three years and a month. Decker and Snow proposed a time-served sentence, with three years probation.
However, at the end of the hearing, it was apparent the mandatory minimum for the conviction is four years. Moore wanted the lawyers to have more time to refine their position and won’t make a decision until Friday morning.
Metatawabin said jail has made her think hard about her life.
“I’ve learned that doing all the wrong things to numb you . . . will take you to dark, scary places, if not properly dealt with,” she told the court.
Her comments couldn’t take away the grief felt by Brown’s family.
His aunt, Samantha Parry, told Moore there is “a massive hole in our lives without him.”
“Levi was alone, no last love to be spoken, no comfort from family, nothing, Cruelly dumped and forgotten,” she said. “We will not forget. We carry on without Levi, holding loving times close to our heart. His name we say out loud. Levi.”
The most poignant words came from his mother, who spoke about a loving son who tried his best for everyone.
“Death changes everything, time changes nothing. I didn’t just lose Levi once. I lose him every time I open my eyes and realize he’s gone and he’s not coming back,” Michele Brown said through tears, telling the court she feels guilty as a mother for not protecting him.
“You didn’t just kill Levi. You killed me, too. You took away my most precious gift: my son, my best friend, my whole heart…. He has given me the strength to stand here today and I can vividly hear him say ‘It’s OK, Mom. Stand tall. Be brave. Don’t be afraid. She can’t hurt us anymore.’
“I can’t say your name,” she said to Metawatabin. “You don’t deserve this part of me, of Levi… I won’t let you silence our voices like you silenced his.”
Moore is expected to make a decision on sentence Friday.
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