Ex-student attacked University of Waterloo gender studies class to ‘sow fear,’ sentencing hearing says

WARNING: This story contains disturbing details.

Federal prosecutors told the court Tuesday during the sentencing hearing for a former student who committed a stabbing death at the University of Waterloo in southern Ontario last year that his actions were ideologically motivated.

On Tuesday, the second day of proceedings against 25-year-old Geovanny Villalba-Aleman, federal Crown attorney Howard Piafsky detailed the assault-related charges to which he pleaded guilty, as well as terror-related offenses being considered as part of the sentencing. .

Villalba-Aleman pleaded guilty in June to four assault-related charges in the stabbing deaths of two students and Katherine Fulfer, an associate professor, in Hagey Hall in June 2023.

Piafsky said Villalba-Aleman acted “to instill fear” in his perceived enemies.

One of the key components of terrorism under Canadian law is that the act must be committed for a political, religious or ideological purpose.

The maximum penalty for the federal charges against him is life in prison. Prosecutors want sixteen years.

On Monday, the first day of the weeklong hearing in Kitchener, statements from Fulfer and the students who had fallen victim to Villalba Aleman were read out in court.

Ex-student says attack ‘wasn’t personal’

On Tuesday, the Villalba-Aleman court heard through his police interrogation that the day of the attack was recorded.

Villalba Aleman is seen dressed in a white jumpsuit, sitting at a table, next to an officer, in the middle of a room. Villalba Aleman detailed the attack, saying he never intended to kill anyone.

“It wasn’t personal,” he said at the beginning of the interview. He later added that he “simply wanted to protect the freedom of academia.”

Villalba Aleman is a recent graduate who came to Canada in 2018 to enroll in the physics program at the University of Waterloo. After graduating a little later than normal, he told the officer, he focused on gaining work experience before starting his master’s degree.

Over time, he said, he became concerned about the ideology taught in gender studies courses. He said the “woke” ideology was being imposed on the classes.

‘He wanted the world to know’

During their speech to the court, Piafsky and fellow federal prosecutor Althea Francis pointed to several other legal precedents and repeatedly referenced the case of Nathaniel Veltmanthe man who killed four members of a Muslim family in London, Ontario, and seriously injured a fifth in a hate-motivated attack in June 2021.

Prosecutors in the Villalba-Aleman case discussed his intentions and how he chose to post a manifesto on two websites, including Discord, before carrying out the attack.

“It’s no mystery why he wanted to commit the attack,” Piafsky told the judge. “Basically he wanted the world to know.”

Francis brought up the attacker’s choice of weapon – two 8-inch serrated knives – and how he had first tried to obtain a bow and arrow before deciding it would be too difficult to operate or conceal.

She referred to Villalba-Aleman’s body language as he told a police officer how he started his day before the attack. He woke up at 2 a.m. to do laundry before getting on his bike about an hour later to ride to the University of Waterloo.

“There was no indication in the interview with the officer that it was a bad day,” Francis told the judge. ‘It was just an ordinary day [for Villalba-Aleman].”

She noted how Villalba-Aleman had indicated in the video interview with the Waterloo regional police officer that he had been considering carrying out the attack since April or May 2023.

“I didn’t want to kill just to kill,” he told the officer, later adding that it was always part of his plan to surrender to police. “The goal wasn’t to cut deep.”

Francis said Villalba-Aleman’s comment to the officer — that he never intended to kill anyone — was self-serving because he had clearly stated his intent to kill in the manifesto he posted online before carrying out the attack.

The lawyers have also begun analyzing and discussing the findings of a psychological report on Villalba-Aleman.

So far, they have discussed the part of the report that addresses Villalba-Aleman’s upbringing.

As the hearing continues, they will discuss whether he has a condition that could have contributed to his decision to carry out the attack.