Crime Beat: The Final Homecoming of Lukas Strasser-Hird | S1 E3

Good evening I'm Antony Robart this is crime  beat the stories behind some of Canada's most   high-profile homicides told by the reporters who  walk the beat every day and the family's demanding   answers we reveal the shocking evidence as it  was uncovered by investigators in their quest for   justice tonight a case that could have happened  to anyone imagine you're out with some of your best   friends you're having a great time then all of a  sudden you see a person being bullied by someone   else you get a knot in the pit of your stomach  you want to say something do something but would   you? the bouncers threw him out he was screaming  at them calling him these racial names Lucas was   like hey like shut up don't don't say that kind of  stuff there's like 30 guys coming after him he was   legitimately scared and she was just like get to  the hospital right now Lucas has been stabbed and   now here's Nancy Hixt with the final homecoming  of Lukas Strasser-Hird from the moment he was   born Lukas Strasser-Hird had a natural ability  to overcome whatever challenges life threw his way he excelled at everything he put his mind to  from sports to academics to music. Music came  easily to Lucas he played by ear by the time he  was a teenager he was playing his favorite songs   without any sheet music he was always naturally smart like he could always manage was pretty like respectable grades without even like opening a  textbook Ramsey S. first met Lucas at elementary school and by high school they were  best friends. I'd slept at his house more times   than I can remember like his mom is pretty much  like my mom at a certain point Lukas split his   time between his parents Holmes his mom's Audrey  Strasser and his dad's Dale Hird a Dale's house   Lukas had a little shadow who loved to follow  him around a lot of the times I remember just   watching him and what he would do and sometimes  like mimicking what he did and try to talk like   him I just I always looked up to him and he was  always like my hero Lukas was nine years old when   his half-sister Julia was born unlike a lot of  sibling relationships Lukas never tired of Julia's   company he was like so chill with me and he just  never got mad at me he always played with me and   he didn't care that much if I just wandered into  his room and sat with him while he played like   games on his xbox or on his computer and then  I'd always want to play with him but I had no   idea how and he just wanted to show me things and  he wanted to teach me how to do things family and   friends were everything to Lucas so an opportunity  called he jumped at the chance to spend a year   with his grandfather in South America then you  got an offer from his grandpa to come you know   he's grabbed will pay his way down there and he  can live in his nice big house with a pool and go   to the American International School in Bolivia  there for a year as much as Lukas enjoyed his   time in South America he was eager to return home  to Calgary and was already making plans for his   future with some of his closest friends he was  pretty excited to come back you'd always message   me as funny I don't know why he always came to  me about it but he was just like so invested in   like Bitcoin and all these like stock trading and  we don't me and him would always have these talks   about it and he was always just like man I gotta  invest in this Bitcoin stuff and it would have   been crazy because like at that time it was only  worth like maybe like a hundred dollars so if he   had had done it he would have been a millionaire  that's just how far like you a smart guy and he   was ahead of things on November 22nd 2013 Lucas  arrived home and spent the entire day with friends   Lukas told them he had finally decided on a career  path after graduation he wanted to become a doctor   like his life goal was to help people and I think  that's really big and he wanted to be a doctor he   wanted to be the best doctor he could have been  something he could save as many lives as he could   That night to celebrate Lukas's homecoming  they went to a few bars in downtown Calgary and   ended up at vinyl nightclub everything was perfect  like it was a really good time like everybody was   getting along like the music was good and those  guys were having a good time at the bar drinking   and dancefloor it was last call when the evening  took a shocking turn this this guy called some I   think was a bouncer I don't I don't know exactly  who it was but he called somebody some profanity   some kind of profanity and then Lukas was like  hey like shut up don't don't say that kind of   stuff too so like strangers I guess it wasn't  out of character for Lukas to take a stand for   what was right the fact Lukas had just arrived  home from a spanish-speaking country fueled his   disgust when he heard the guy yelling racial slurs  at the bouncer what he did was not surprising to   me at all that's why like I said I wasn't I didn't  think it was a big deal at the time wasn't go he's   just telling this kid to shut up with a super  just gonna go home in like 20 minutes anyway but   it's not a big deal it soon became clear that guy  wasn't open to criticism he pushed Lucas hard and   soon look has found himself surrounded swarmed by  a group of guys he tried to leave and backed away   down the sidewalk but the group went after him  again finally he got free and was taken inside   the club by a bouncer they said that they were  gonna take him inside to sort of like defuse the   situation but at that point our ride had showed  up and he was like right in front of the door so   we figured okay like we'll drive to the back and  like and find him right inside the bar Lucas found   Bryce and he seemed like legitimately scared that  he was gonna get jumped again and that there's   like 30 guys coming after him I talked to the  bouncer and told him like hey this is a friend   like can you let with them and they said okay just  come with me to the back and so we had a minute  but at the back not very long I was telling Lukas  like hey man we're just gonna go the alley and   we're just gonna get to my car we'll get out  as soon as possible go out like the fastest way   out of the alley so that like they can't like  if they're gonna jump us this is gonna be the   most public like we wanted to like either get to  my car like a busier place where that nobody can   do anything crazy like that the bouncers were kind  of just hurrying us out the back like you guys got   to go like they didn't really give us an option  to stay in the club Bryce's car was parked right   across the street from the bar so it didn't seem  like it would be too hard to make a quick and safe   getaway we went out the doors we had sat in the  alley for maybe a minute talking about which way   would be the better way and then I told him if it  made him feel better I would switch my shirt with   him just so they wouldn't know it was him like  as soon as we came out of the alley they just   said there he is let's like there he is there  he is and they all just chased after him it was   crazy like it just didn't it didn't almost like  feel real because it was just so sudden we were   like panicking and you know know what was going  on and didn't realize that all that was happening   at the same time and they're attacking him lukas  was swarmed again between like 10 to 15 I don't   I don't know an exact number it was just like  so overwhelming at the time I couldn't keep a   headcount he was begging for help like begging  them for them to stop and he was saying like   he said like you're killing me like please stop  and dying and stuff like that and they just they   just kept yelling at him they're just saying like  you messed with the wrong guys he messed with my   friend this is what you get stuff like that like  they're just on some revenge plot of something   that was so little in the front Bryce knew his  friend was critically injured and called 911 of   several witnesses who called for help including  this Good Samaritan I think still here trying to   At the same time these calls were being made Lucas's attackers came back and  swarmed him one more time he got to the point   like his face was just like almost reconstructed  almost like his eyes were closed shut and like I   just I don't know like my mind kind of has tried  taking that out of my head so if I said remember   that I just remember that you just could barely  recognize them and then like you're sure it was   completely red from all the blood and she just  wasn't it wasn't Lukas anymore police were close   by it turned out they had responded after the  initial fight happened out front while Lukas   was being brutally attacked in the back alley they  were investigating in front at the club it's crazy   to think about how they were so close but so far  at the same time and that's when I noticed he was   covering her blood so that's when I found it like  hip and stabbed to give you an idea of just how   fast this barbaric attack happened it was all over  before Ramsey and his buddy could pull the vehicle   around the block we came back to the same mouth  of the alley that was the closest on the closest   end of the street to the bar and we had already  seen him being mobbed by like probably ten people   at least and then by the time I had jumped out  of the car and ran up everybody had like I guess   taken off and then that's when the the ambulance  and the police showed up at that point Ramsey had   no idea what had happened to his best friend it  didn't click in my head what was happening like I   said excited never I never imagined that it would  go that far so when I saw everybody at the alley I   was kind of like Oh what happened and then as I  got closer I figured that what happened I never   thought that would happen to somebody I know and  I think anybody does Lukas was rushed to hospital   coming up after the break Lukas Strasser-Hird had  dreams of becoming a doctor specifically a trauma   surgeon instead he laid on an operating table as  a trauma surgeon worked to try and save his life as Dale Hird went to bed the night of November  22nd 2013 all was good in his world he was   excited to see his son and they plan to decorate  the Christmas tree as a family the following day   instead his whole world would soon fall apart we  now return to Nancy Hixt and the final homecoming   of Lukas Strasser Hird I remember I went to bed  and I'm an IT guy so I tend to turn my phone off   notifications and stuff at night because it comes  sometimes can just bug you for no reason and so I   my ringer turned off or whatever and I got up at  about 5:30 in the morning I believed to go to the   washroom and I looked at my phone and there was  like nine missed calls on my phone and I looked   and it was message number I never even seen before  so I thought my first my very first thought is Oh   Lukas had too much to drink and needed a ride home  or something and I hope that he's got a ride home   That was my first thought so I actually went upstairs  went to the washroom I was making a coffee in the   phone rang and it was Audrey and she was screaming  and she was just like get to the hospital right   now Lucas has been stabbed and I was like what  what what it's just Lukas has been stabbed he's   been stabbed three times and go there and be  with him go there and be with him and it's   just the biggest shock you'd ever hear like I was  half asleep and just bang gets you like a hammer   and so I went upstairs right I went I started just  screaming it was totally just screaming I couldn't   believe it Lukas has been stabbed... Lukas's mother Audrey was out of town in northern   Alberta for work she had a six hour drive back to  Calgary to see him. Dale called his mother Lukas's   grandmother she picked him up and they went to  the hospital together. and as soon as I walked   in I I'll never forget my very first thought was  like a relief it was like that's not him that's   not my son this is this guy's face is swollen up  like this and his necks all swollen I thought it   wasn't him at first... that feeling of relief  was quickly replaced by complete devastation   a feeling that's consumed Dale ever since... until  I grabbed his hand and I felt this hand that's   exactly his hand and I smelled his hair and  then I knew it was him right down in there   julia was only nine years old when she was taken  into that hospital room to see her big brother   I think the one thing that really sticks and you  know I still I still like think about it daily is   seeing him and walking into his hospital room and  just being like wrong room this isn't it and like   she's just it's just black and blue I couldn't I  couldn't tell but then I saw his hands were like   untouched they like they looked like his hands and  I just remember I noticed his hair and smell like   his hair and then I saw his eyes they really  partly opened it I knew they were his and it   was just oh my gosh I think this is not real I  I pretty sure I was screaming but I couldn't I   didn't know like I was just yeah I was like easily  the craziest day of my life Lukas was clinging to   life and as Dale and Julia held his hands they  both felt a squeeze he knew they were there by   his side in an instant Lukas took a turn for the  worse... I heard someone say that his blood pressure   had dropped to 40 over 20 and then they ushered  us into the side room and that's where this one   doctor was trying to talk to us about if it had  if he had him stabbed in the heart if he had him   in there so but out of an that and I'm like what  are you talking about and then also this other   doctor there he just broke he interrupted this  other doc and he said your son's gonna die in   five minutes and right then and there I jumped  up and I ran to the room and there he was and I   immediately grabbed his hand and I grabbed him  like and I was screaming into his ear trying to   beg him just to keep going keep going come on one  more pump one more pump come on I'll never I'll   never let this happen to you again I'll never  never never not like I was just telling him how   I was gonna always protect him forever and this  will never happen to him again and I was praying   and I was down and then I remember like Julia my  mom people were there but I would say just I can   barely remember I just remember freaking out about  it and then a doctor came in or a nurse came in it   started turning off stuff like turning off the  instruments and I got so mad it's you know don't   give up on them don't give up on him and and then  I was just down on my hands and knees just praying   and screaming into his ear - keep going keep going  your mom isn't here yeah you please just try it   try to stay Lukas so your mom can say goodbye  and then another doctor came in and just looked   me right yeah and said your son has passed away  and it just went all quiet and then it's a little   blurry after that. Lukas was gone it's really hard  it's something you just can't let go of you   know like it gets easier to handle over time but  like having him like having his blood on my hands   you know and watching them pull the plug  while I'm sitting there holding his hand and just   like you didn't have time like it's just not it  wasn't fair. in that instant everything changed Coming on as Lukas's family prepare to land  to rest police were tracking down his killers it should have been the happiest time of year  filled with Christmas shopping and time with   family and friends instead Lucas's loved ones  planned his funeral and now we return to Nancy   Hixt and the final homecoming of Lukas  Strasser-Hird. hundreds of people filled   the church pews the sadness was crushing  they were grieving the life of a young man   who should never have been taken from them  his death incomprehensible I'm glad to see   that you're all here to commemorate the life of  my best friend and my right my brother I met Lukas when we were 11... Ramsey read a  special tribute Lucas's mother wrapped her   arms around him and helped him  find the strength to continue...   I met Lucas when we were 11 by the time we were  14 his about I spent almost every day with him he taught me so much he taught me not to care  what other people thought of myself taught me   he taught me not to minge away my life and  make the most of it... and then with her father   by her side it was Lucas's little sisters turn  you are the most amazing brother a girl could   ever wish for I'm giving you this medal because I  remember when I told you I'd got my second soccer   medal you said Congrats I love you and there  are no words to express how proud I am of you   I started to tear up your girlfriend has been  talking to me a lot and she feels the same way   as I do she said she loved how cheesy you were  and how much she loved your cheesy compliments... julia was doing exactly what her big brother  would have wanted her to she was focusing on   the good times the joy lukas brought to their  lives... you never let me drink milk out of the   carton even though boys are usually the ones  who do it... at nine years old this little angel   transformed the room she took them from  morning to celebrating her brother's life   he always motivated everyone he always tried to  help everyone - he said if I can do it you can   too his smile is printed on my soul and I hope  the same for you the final words were spoken by   Lukas's mother Audrey Strasser there's so many  beautiful memories we have of him and joyous   occasions that we can't put on a piece of paper  we will carry him in her heart for always and   always and always though I've messaged back and  forth with Audrey on many occasions this was one   of the only times she ever spoke publicly about  Lucas she since moved to South America her heart   forever broken by the loss of her son there was  not a day in my life that I did not speak with   my son that he did not tell me how much he loved  me I was so blessed with such a beautiful child it was so hard to comprehend how this happened  to Lukas and over what all he did was defend a   stranger police had their work cut out for them  with so many involved in the attack it was a   daunting task to make matters worse the savage  swarming was not captured on surveillance video   witness accounts would become key evidence  in this case I was able to remember things   so well because I was sober and I don't think  any of my memories were affected because of   drinking or anything like that with Bryce's help  along with other witnesses homicide detectives   made arrests murder charges have now been  laid against two young men in connection   with a deadly weekend attack what began as a  senseless argument outside a downtown bar has   ended one young life and forever changed  to others Nancy Hixt reports two young   men are now behind bars in remand 19-year old  Franz Cabrera is charged with second degree   murder eighteen year-old Nathan Gervais is  charged with first degree murder a few days   later Joch Pouk was charged with second degree  murder nearly three weeks later a fourth man Assmar Shlah was arrested and charged and then more  than a month later a fifth men Jordan Liao was   charged with second degree murder this would  be the last murder charge laid in this case within days of that final arrest  Dale was thrown onto an emotional   roller coaster that would continue for  years one by one each of the men accused   of murder in the case was granted  bail even the man who faced the most   serious charge of first-degree murder  Nathan Gervais was led out of custody with his accused killers out on bail  Lukas's family feared there would   never be justice the shocking twist  this case would take after the break the wheels of justice moves slowly and it  would be two and a half long years after   Lucas died before his accused killers would  stand trial but before that could happen   yet another blow we now return to Nancy Hicks  and the final homecoming of Lucas Strasser her   on the eve of the trial Nathan Gervais the  man accused of the most serious offense of   first-degree murder skipped bail when Nathan taken  off like right before look what does he have to   lose right first-degree murderer you know he's  gonna get 25 years he's not going to get anything   added to it right and it's just unreal he took  off the court proceedings would continue without   survey on May 4th 2016 Assmar Shlah Franz Cabrera  Joch Pouk and Jordan Liao all stood trial accused   of second-degree murder the prosecution alleged  the violent attack all started with a misplaced   jacket at the club's coat-check Assmar Shlah was  captured on surveillance video he became enraged   when he couldn't immediately get his coat back and  so the bouncers threw him out and then when they   were when the bouncers were throwing him out he  was screaming at them to calling him these racial   names and that's when Lukas was standing there as  a bystander just outside mine his own business and   he said to aspirin enough with the racial names or  something like that and then aspirin turned to him   and attacked him and all his friends attacked them  it's on video out front of the club Assmar Shlah violently pushed Lukas then his friends joined in  Lukas defended himself and struck in the face the   group pinned Lukas against a wall bouncers came  to his rescue and took him inside the nightclub   minutes later Lucas and his friends were led out  the back door they had no idea that Assmar Shlah and his friends were waiting for Lukas in the  alley like he was running from the scene and   he had his soles shoe was soaked with my son's  blood so he was one of the guys like when Luke   we talked about Lucas being stabbed he didn't  stab him he's the one that kicked his teeth out   of his head onto the ground two of the accused  testified in their own defense including Assmar Shlah law he denied any involvement in the attack the  evidence suggested otherwise beginning with the   animosity he held towards Lukas for what happened  out front of the nightclub and then there was the   shoe evidence Assmar Shlah and Nathan Gervais  were both really good soccer players they played   at the highest level of competitive youth soccer  in Calgary there are photos of the shoes Shlah wore on the night of Lukas's attack the top of his  right shoe his instep is blood-stained Shlah   maintained the blood was his own but his story  also changed a few times when he was arrested   he told police they wouldn't find Lukas's blood  on his shoes at all not even a fleck is what he   said during the trial he testified he got a bloody  nose from the original altercation out front of   the club he said that's what caused the stain on  his shoes he also said it was possible he stepped   in some of Lukas's blood when he was briefly in  the alley but maintained he didn't participate   in the attack forensic testing revealed the blood  on Shlah's right shoe was Lucas's his DNA was also   found on Shlah's left shoe and it was exactly  where they used to wear a soccer player picks   a soccer ball this guy was a soccer player you  know and so he the testimony was that they were   kicking my son's head like a soccer ball they're  taking turns when he was on the ground I friends   Cabrera was close friends with Shlah his defense  lawyer didn't deny Cabrera's involvement in the   attack but tried to minimize the impact of  his actions as with slaw the evidence told   another story one witness identified Cabrera as  someone who stomped Lukas in the face Cabrera's   car keys were found at the scene jurors heard  Cabrera stabbed Lukas with those keys his DNA   was on them and in the hours that followed this  warming Cabrera sent several damning texts to   nathan Gervais one read bro I stabbed someone  for asthma and he got arrested then I think I   killed him I'm hiding in an alley Joch Pouk was  identified as one of the attackers court heard   he braced himself with one hand on a wall as he  kicked Lukas in the face along with six to eight   other guys Pouk testified in his own defense and  admitted to participating in the attack but said   he kicked Lukas no more than four times before he  left the scene after six weeks of evidence it took   jurors several days to reach their verdicts after  the break the jury's decision but the emotional   roller coaster for Lukas's family and friends was  far from over it took several days for the jury   to reach verdicts in the case but Lukas's family  could never have predicted what would happen next   we now return to Nancy Hixt for the conclusion  of the final homecoming of Lukas Strasser-Hird   a small measure of relief tonight for the family  of a Calgary teen who was swarmed and beaten to   death a jury has convicted three of the four men  in the killing of Lukas Strasser-Hird one of the   accused did walk free Nancy Hixt reports for the  first time since the brutal murder of his son more   than two and a half years ago the father of Lukas  Strasser-Hird left court feeling some peace I was   gonna start clapping in there after nearly three  days of deliberations the jury came back Thursday   morning with four verdicts for the men charged  in the swarming death of the 18 year old  Assmar Shlah is guilty of second-degree murder  friends Cabrera also guilty of second-degree   murder Joch Pouk was found not guilty of second  degree murder but guilty of the lesser charge   of manslaughter and Jordan Liao has been found  not guilty and walked out of court a free man in January 2017 more than three years after  Lukas's death friends Cabrera and Assmar Shlah law were sentenced to life in prison Joch Pouk who  was convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter   was sentenced to seven years in prison - credit  for time served that still wasn't the end for   Lukas's family even after being handed a life  sentence Assmar Shlah kept applying for bail   pending his appeal being heard and Nathan Gervais  was still on the run by then he had been gone for   more than a year but the Calgary Police homicide  detectives never gave up the father of a Calgary   murder victim is praising police for tracking down  an accused killer on the run Nathan Gervais was   returned to Canada from Vietnam on Friday and as  Nancy Hixt reports the victim's family now wants   anyone who helped him flee Calgary to be charged  we now know Nathan Gervais fled to Vietnam where   nearly two years later Calgary police tracked  him down it was uh it was a big relief for us   they've never quit they never gave up officials  from the Vietnamese embassy confirmed they helped   facilitate Gervais being brought back to Canada by  police last Friday he's expected to be flown back   to Calgary later this week Dale Hird wants a full  investigation done in two Gervaise disappearance   it would have been simple right from the start  if he wasn't laid out on bail like the decision   to let him out on bail cost full 20 months of  full-time work for the Calgary Police and that's   just ridiculous. Global News discovered Gervais  was arrested by police in Vietnam several months   earlier for being in the country with a fraudulent  passport officials then reached out to police in   Calgary in January we were advised by the Ministry  of Public Security in Vietnam that Gervais was to   be deported back to Canada Dale Hird felt like  he could finally see the light at the end of the   tunnel but it was short-lived days after learning  Gervais had been caught another blow a spur slaw   convicted murderer gets let out on bail a week  before Christmas destroyed our family's Christmas   destroyed really at my faith in anything that he's  convicted he's not he's not innocent there's no   presumption of innocence there's nothing slaw  was released on $50,000 cash bail he was under   house arrest except to go to school or work like  I think the court system is very frustrating and   it I know it's really hard to change things but  I think if enough people were to say something   about at least murderers not being able to get  bail while they're sentenced and convicted I   think that would be a really big change in the  court system more than five years after Lucas   was killed Nathan Gervais finally stood trial for  first-degree murder once again Lucas's loved ones   had to relive the horrific details of his brutal  and savage death because it was a few years after   that's when I started to be more mentally clear  and was rebounding myself I was feeling better   and then going through the court and hearing all  these things again and having to remember every   image and everything my mind was trying to get it  out but I had to reach back in and grab all those   memories that I didn't want to have but I knew I  had to do it for Lucas and his family surveillance   video showed Gervais left the bar to get a knife  from his car then returned to the club he stalked   Lukas's movements through the front window then  when he saw Lukas was led out the back he was   seen running around to the alley to intercept  him Justice William Tillman found Gervais guilty   of first-degree murder he called his actions  predatory and calculated Tillman found Gervais   physically restrained and forcibly confined Lukas  because he was pinned between a dumpster the wall   and the ground as he was stabbed it was impossible  for him to escape Gervais was given an automatic   life sentence with no chance of parole for 25  years but it still wasn't over in November of   2019 six years after Lucas was killed the Supreme  Court of Canada heard the appeals of   Assmar Shlah and Franz Cabrera. Gavin walsh, Cabrera's  defense lawyer presented his argument first   Lukas Strasser Hird would have died whether  or not Franz Cabrera ever set foot in that   alley well we don't know that that's that was  the evidence of one of the witnesses the fatal   injuries justice brown were inflicted by Nathan  Gervais with a folding knife that he got from   his car before Franz Cabrera ever arrived in  that alley. what if the death was hastened by the additional attack and then it was Belford ders turn  to argue Assmar Shlah case this was a terrible   case you know a young man has been said upon in  the in the back alley he's this is nowhere near   a fair fight you have a large group a number  of people attacking him one of these people   Gervais brings a knife this fistfight stabs  him to death but he didn't drop down dead on   the spot did he get it stopped like one blow  straight to the hurt he hits the ground gets   over it didn't happen like that did it what I'm  doing is I'm trying to show you that even if you   when you look at the whole of this evidence he  was so weak as to be virtually useless I mean   blood on the running shoes is really quite  strong evidence if the jury chose to see it   as they were entitled to see him that it didn't  happen from a nosebleed it happened from brutal   kicking and blood getting all over the shoe  and so but no but that goes to identification   to by the wave at the Supreme Court each  side is allowed to present its argument   for 30 minutes after der finished court took  a recess what happened next is incredibly rare the court let go it won't be necessary to  hear from the crown we all wanted to let   Council know for mr. Carrera mr. Shlah that  the representations you made both in your fact   UM's and orally could not have been better and  we are we're not persuaded we agree with the   majority of the Court of Appeal that the charge  to the jury does not disclose reviewable error   and the jury's verdicts were not unreasonable  and that was it. Assmar Shlah and Franz Cabrera   stand convicted of the second-degree murder of  Lukas Strasser Hird it's hard to describe just   how big this was for Lukas's father for a brief  moment the pain that's filled his eyes for years   was replaced with relief it's been held like my  life is hell and today is a good day having   Shlah accountable for Lukas's death has  always been important to Dale it was slaw who   made the racist comments that night the comments  that spurred Lukas to speak out in the first place   my son stood up to this ass of a guy he couldn't  stand it he was humiliated and you can even see   him on video talking to the guys that eventually  attacked my son and they you know they went around   back and attacked him and and killed him as soon  as I heard the judge say that crown doesn't need   to speak I just start got chills and you know when  I turn and look over at their side and I see the   guy crying over there so I'm happy with that like  I'm sorry my son was crying when he was kicking   him in the face you know when he was bleeding  to death the crowd saw slaw remained out on bail   until he returned to Calgary and finally went  to prison we have no comment we have no comment Lukas's friends who were there that night  will never be the same each of his loved   ones has found their own way of coping with this  senseless crime I've learned I guess how does not   how to deal with it but like how to deal with it  better probably the hardest year of my life is   trying to get that out of my head like I had  nightmares for months playing the same thing   over in my head non-stop then I started having  like dreams of what if Lucas was fine and he   made it transition more into positive things but  it was still really hard to battle a battle with   depression for a while I think a lot of us did  the pain will never end for Lukas's family and   friends after the appeals stop there will be  parole hearings to attend probably one of the   hardest things about all this is I can't remember  the last time I saw my dad really smile it's just I just I don't know how he how he  does it sometimes you know like just like everything that he's he's gone to  like every Court II just constantly   deals with this and people harassing him online  like it's just it's not fair you know and all   while this is going on he's still my dad  and he still knows how to crack a joke and I just I don't know it's just like seeing  how much it's changed him and how it's   made him so anxious and it's just I just  wish I could do something to take it away to make matters worse they all live  with the fact that some of the men   who attacked Lucas have never and  will never be held accountable witnesses say more than a dozen people  were involved in the swarming attack of   Lucas Strasser heard only four were held  accountable for their involvement in the   case Lucas's family and friends had hoped  they would all face justice instead police   focused on the people who the prosecution  believed could face a reasonable likelihood   of conviction that means there are times when  Lucas's loved ones cross paths with some of his   attackers who remain free I'm Antony Robart  thank you for joining us tonight on crime for more on this story and other high  profile Canadian cases check out crime   beat podcast you can listen for free on  Apple podcast Spotify or on curious cast CA

Channel: Crime Beat TV

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Keywords: Crime beat, Crime, Crime stories, true crime, real life crime, Nancy Hixt, Nancy Hixt crimebeat, crimebeat, crime beat podcast, Lukas Strasser-Hird murder, Lukas Strasser-Hird, The Final Homecoming of Lukas Strasser-Hird

Id: mZryGyYiU2U

Length: 45min 16sec (2716 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 28 2020