'Very cruel' pair of killers sentenced to life in prison in quadruple murder

Two "very cruel" murderers who fatally tortured a Calgary man and were involved in killing three witnesses were sentenced to life in prison on Thursday.

Tewodros Kebede, 27, and Yu Chieh Liao, 27, were convicted of first-degree murder in the 2017 kidnapping and torture death of Hanock Afowerk.

The bodies of three others Cody Pfeiffer, 25, and sistersTiffany Ear, 39, andGlynnisFox, 36 were discovered in a burnt-out vehicleafter they'd been fatally shot. It's believed they were witnesses to Afowerk's murder.

Liao was convicted ofaccessory after the fact in the deaths of all three, while Kebedewas convicted on thesame charge but only in connection with Pfeiffer's killing.

A first-degree murder conviction comes with an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years. Court of Queen'sBench Justice Blair Nixon handedKebede and Liaosix- and seven-year sentences, respectively, for their accessory offences, to be served concurrently to their life sentences.

Earlier in the day, several victim impact statements were read aloud in court, including from Cody Pfeiffer's father, Troy, who spoke outside the courtroom afterward.

"They're very cruel," said Pfeiffer."He was put into a car and burned like a piece of garbage."

"I don't even know how their minds work. I mean, to take so many lives and sit there yawning [in court].The smiles on their faces, it's more of an insult. It's a big, big stab to the heart, the soul. There is only one place for people like that and that's off these streets."

Pfeiffer said his son's life was brutally taken.

Jurors heard that on July 9, 2017, Liao met with Afowerk, who planned to sell her false identification.

After that meeting, Afowerk was kidnapped by several people, including Kebede and Liao, and held for ransom.

Over the course of the night, Afowerk called a friend and had her pack up identification and credit card printing equipment, as well as cash, which was then picked up by Kebede and Liao.

• 'Guilty, guilty, guilty': Jury convicts pair of murder and other charges in Calgary quadruple killing

But later, Afowerk called the friend in a panic, saying $30,000 was missing from the bags. He then phoned another woman looking for the $30,000.

Pfeiffer was present at both the killing and the dumping of the Afowerk's body.

On the morning of July 10, Pfeiffer's friend received a frantic message from him saying "things were not good" and he had to get out of Calgary.

• 1st murder victim tortured, other 3 fatally shot 'to eliminate witnesses,' jurors told

Later that day, the bodies of Pfeiffer, Fox and Ear were found in a burnt-out car in the northwest Calgary neighbourhood of Sage Hill.

Afowerk, who owned the vehicle, was found dead two days later by cyclists west of Calgary where Highway 22 and Highway 8 meet.

His body showed evidence he'd been restrained, tortured and then shot.

The other three victims were killed in order to "eliminate witnesses" in the hours afterAfowerk's murder, the prosecutors told jurorsduring the six-week trial, which took place in late 2019.

Key Crown evidence included cellphone data that placed Kebede and Liao inlocations connected to the victims, the murders and the sites where the bodies were dumped.