In a chilling act of desperation, a Calgary senior who believed she was dying after a vicious beating scrawled her own name in blood so her body could be identified, a city court heard this week.
Five-Year Sentences for Violent Attack
Justice Greg Stirling accepted a joint submission and sentenced Stephen James Hovey, 34, to a five-year prison term for his role in the violent assault and unlawful confinement of 68-year-old Diana Redmond. The attack occurred in the victim's southeast Calgary home on September 29, 2024.
Hovey pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault and unlawful confinement. His girlfriend and the victim's granddaughter, Larissa Kittleson, previously received an identical five-year sentence after pleading guilty to the same charges.
Horrific Details of the Assault Emerge
Reading from an agreed statement of facts, Crown prosecutor Samina Dhalla outlined the terrifying ordeal. The violence began with an argument between Redmond and Kittleson over missing clothing in the home on 39 Street S.E.
"Kittleson grabbed Redmond’s fingers and twisted them, breaking them," Dhalla told the court. After Kittleson fell and hit her head, she called for Hovey's help. Hovey then punched Redmond approximately 20 times in the head, strangled her, and struck her with a hard object she believed was a magnifying glass.
Fearing Redmond would call police, the pair escalated their actions. They gagged her with duct tape, bound her with rope, and confined her in the basement laundry room, securing the door with more rope. Throughout the attack, Hovey threatened to kill the elderly woman.
A Desperate Bid for Identification
Alone, injured, and fearing for her life, Diana Redmond performed a heartbreaking act. "When Redmond was alone in the laundry room, she used her blood to write her name on the floor as she thought that if she was going to die, then police would know her name right away," prosecutor Dhalla stated.
After the intoxicated attackers left, Redmond managed to free herself. She fled to a neighbour's home for help, still with duct tape over her mouth and a rope around her neck. She was subsequently hospitalized and treated for serious injuries, including broken fingers, a nasal fracture, and damage to her orbital bones.
Aftermath and Sentencing
In court, defence counsel Justin Dean cited his client's drug addiction and a "toxic" relationship with Kittleson as factors in the violent behaviour. With credit for time served in presentencing custody, Hovey will have just over three years remaining on his sentence.
The case, heard at the Calgary Courts Centre, underscores a brutal instance of family violence that left a senior citizen fighting for her life and her identity in her final moments of consciousness.
