Daniel Bryce
Prince George, BC / Oct. 14, 1984
Daniel Bryce, 31, was stabbed and slashed to death by a 33-year-old man on October 14, 1984. During his trial the killer claimed to have "drifted off" in the back of the taxi and was awakened when Bryce shook him by the neck. He said "something exploded" inside his head and he felt he was back in prison and in danger. The next thing he knew he was back in his apartment with blood on his clothes.
While still on the stand, the accused changed his story. According to this version he had $20 to purchase a gram of hashish at his destination and pay for the cab, but he thought Bryce was deliberately running up the fare. The killer claimed that when he said "What do you think you're doing?" Bryce insulted him and grabbed him by the neck. The killer drew a knife from a sheath in his windbreaker pocket and "I was slashing and stabbing him all over the place."
The killer was convicted of murder and sentenced to life with no eligibility for parole for 18 years.
In November, 1995 the man was again convicted of murder in the death a year earlier of fellow William Head Penitentiary inmate. He was sentenced to life with no possibility of parole for 25 years. The killer beat his victim with a rolling pin and then slashed his face and neck, almost severing his head. The injuries rendered the victim (himself a convicted murderer) almost faceless.
The conviction was overturned on appeal and in a second trial the killer was found to have acted in self-defence. He was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 20 years. He was to be eligible for parole in 2004.
In explanation of the 20-year term, the judge noted that "intense efforts" had failed to get (the killer) to control his notoriously quick temper. Rehabilitation "is not a realistic possibility at this stage in his life."
One of 20 children in an abused family, the man had a grade five education when he left his native Newfoundland. His criminal record began in 1969 and included 12 convictions for violent crimes.
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