Chilliwack Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Killing Two Neighbours
Subhadarshi Tripathy
6/1/20262 min read
An 86-year-old man from Chilliwack, B.C., has been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty in connection with the deaths of two neighbours at a trailer park in September 2023.
Robert Freeman was sentenced earlier this month in B.C. Supreme Court after being charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in the deaths of John Kavaloff, 58, and Valerie Smith, 67.
The court heard that Freeman had become frustrated by noise coming from Kavaloff’s workshop. Just before 8 p.m. on September 13, 2023, Freeman shot both neighbours with a rifle at the trailer park on Chilliwack Lake Road.
He was arrested at the scene shortly after the shootings.
Life Sentence and Parole Ineligibility
Freeman pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Kavaloff and was sentenced to life in prison with no eligibility for parole for 10 years.
He also received a concurrent eight-year sentence for manslaughter in Smith’s death.
According to the judgment, Freeman expressed remorse after the killings and later placed his rifle on his bed for RCMP to seize. However, the court noted that he did not provide assistance to either victim after the shootings.
Judge Calls Violence ‘Exceptionally Disproportionate’
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Andrea Ormiston wrote that Freeman’s decision to respond to a noise dispute with lethal violence was “exceptionally disproportionate.”
The judgment described the offences as both unjustifiable and difficult to explain, particularly given Freeman’s previous life in the community.
Ormiston noted that Freeman, Kavaloff and Smith had shared a longstanding neighbourly relationship. She also acknowledged that Freeman had contributed to his community for years before the killings, but said the violence caused lasting harm.
“His acts of violence stand in stark contrast to a life of honest living and contributions to society,” the judge wrote.
Family Describes Victims as Loving and Generous
The court also heard from the daughter-in-law of Smith and Kavaloff, who described them as deeply involved in their family’s lives.
The judgment said Smith and Kavaloff were loving, supportive and generous people who helped with child care, home projects, vehicle maintenance, emotional support and day-to-day family life.
Freeman received credit for 26 days already served in pre-trial custody.
In concluding the sentence, Ormiston said Freeman had caused irreversible harm to the victims’ loved ones and damaged the wider community through his actions.
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