Craig Kelloway's family expresses grief at Nicholas Rasberry sentencing hearing

From the other side of the country, a family tormented by their son's final moments tried to put into words for a Calgary judgethe impact Craig Kelloway's death has had on them.

"The day I laid my son to rest is the day I wished to be buried with him," Harvey Kelloway wrote from his home in Cape Breton, N.S."He was my son and best friend."

Kelloway, 31, was killed byNicholasRasberryin May2013 after being stabbed and slashed 37 times.

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Originally charged with second-degree murder, the 32-year-oldwas found guilty of manslaughterin October afterthe judge determinedhedidn't have the intentto commit murder.

Victim impact statements were read aloud at Rasberry'ssentencing hearing today. The judgeis expected to hand down his decision on Dec. 11.

Kelloway'smother described days and nights plagued with panic attacks and nightmares.

"Did he defend himself? Did he beg for his life?" Monica Kelloway asked in her statement. "My heart is broken into a million pieces."

911 call

Rasberry and Kelloway metonlyhours before paramedics arrived.

Rasberry andhis wife metKellowayand his girlfriendin their backyardand began drinking and barbecuing together.The festivities later took them fromKelloway'shome to theRasberry's.

But shortly after the women went to bed, something happened that causedRasberryto stabKellowaybreakingthree knivesin the process.

Rasberry has never denied killing Kelloway, but has maintained that the victim threatened to sexually assault him.He also said he felt he needed to protect his wife who was sleeping upstairs.

"He tried to f--k me," said Rasberry to the 911 operator in a phone call that was made the night he killed Kelloway."I stabbed him everywhere."

Son's life 'destroyed'

The mother of Kelloway's son also spoke about hisloss from the boy's perspective.

"You say you were protecting your family, but your actions destroyed Blake's," said Kim Warcop.

The boy, now three,was not allowed inside the courtroom butsat patiently in the hallway.

Prosecutors Todd Buziak and Matthew Block are seeking a 15-year prison sentence for Rasberry.

They have also asked the Alberta Court of Appeal to overturn the the manslaughter decision, instead seeking a second-degree murder conviction.

The defence team of Hersh and Gavin Wolchis asking for time-served, meaning Rasberrywon't serveany more time behind bars besidesthe year he spent in the Calgary Remand Centre before being granted bail.

Rasberry's references

Nine letters addressed to Justice Robert Hallwere filed by Rasberry's friends and family in support of him.

Includedwere letters from his former wife and her parents who say the stress of the incident, Rasberry's time at the remand centre and the trial led to their divorce.

We firmly believe there were two victims that night and we beg of you to be merciful to our son insentencing.-Steve and DebraRasberry

"Nick and I weren't just husband and wife, we meant the world to one another.We were best friends," wrote Kelsey Klein, Rasberry's former wife. "It was the loneliness, heartacheand exhaustion that ended our marriage."

The couple had just bought their Auburn Bay home at the time of the killing and were about to try to start a family.

"Our daughter has lost so much, her fairytale life shattered," said Carolanne Klein in her letter. "She is now left to pick up the pieces of her life."

Rasberry's parents wrote that his son "desperately hoped"to reconcile with Klein.

"We firmly believe there were two victims that night and we beg of you to be merciful to our son insentencing," wroteSteve and Debra Rasberry.