Man Found Guilty of Manslaughter in Fatal Vancouver Starbucks Stabbing
Noah Chen
9/3/20262 min read
A man charged with second-degree murder in the widely publicized 2023 stabbing death of Paul Schmidt outside a downtown Vancouver Starbucks has been found guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter.
Inderdeep Singh Gosal was accused of stabbing Schmidt six times during a confrontation in March 2023.
The violent encounter was captured by multiple security cameras and cellphone videos, some of which were widely circulated online.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Kathleen Ker described the incident as “shocking, violent and traumatic.”
Judge Says Schmidt Was Initial Aggressor
According to Ker’s findings, Gosal had been sitting on the Starbucks patio smoking a joint when Schmidt confronted him about smoking.
Schmidt, who had been pushing his young daughter in a stroller, began yelling at Gosal before physically advancing on him and throwing him to the ground, the judge found.
More than a dozen people witnessed the confrontation.
Ker said surveillance footage provided a clear record of what happened and established that Schmidt was the initial aggressor.
She found that Schmidt initially had the advantage in the physical confrontation before Gosal pulled a knife from his pocket and began stabbing him.
The entire physical altercation lasted approximately 28 seconds.
Gosal Had Been Charged With Second-Degree Murder
Gosal pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder during his judge-alone trial in February.
His lawyers argued that manslaughter was the appropriate verdict, saying Gosal’s actions represented an overreaction influenced by mental illness rather than a deliberate intention to kill Schmidt.
The court heard that Gosal has schizophrenia and had stopped taking his prescribed medication approximately three months before the stabbing.
Gosal testified that he believed a knife he said he had found in an alley was a “sign from God” indicating he needed to protect himself.
Crown Questioned Gosal’s Account
Crown prosecutors challenged parts of Gosal’s testimony and pointed to several instances in which they said his account had changed.
Those included differing explanations about how he obtained the knife, claims about how much alcohol he had consumed before the attack and descriptions of his psychological condition provided to psychiatrists.
The Crown argued that some of Gosal’s statements were self-serving and should not be accepted as reliable.
Judge Could Not Find Intent to Kill Beyond Reasonable Doubt
To convict Gosal of second-degree murder, the Crown was required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he possessed the necessary intent to kill Schmidt or cause bodily harm he knew was likely to result in death.
Ker considered whether Gosal’s actions occurred in panic or fear during the rapidly developing confrontation.
She also weighed evidence concerning his schizophrenia, his alcohol consumption and differing medical opinions about the extent to which his mental state influenced his actions.
After considering the totality of the evidence, Ker concluded she could not find beyond a reasonable doubt that Gosal possessed the intent required for murder.
He was therefore found guilty of manslaughter rather than second-degree murder.
Gosal will be sentenced at a later date.
News
Stay updated with the latest BC news stories, subscribe to our newsletter today.
SUBSCRIBE
© 2026 Innovatory Labs Inc. All rights reserved.
LINKS