Sentencing hearing set to begin Monday for man guilty of University of Waterloo stabbings - Action News
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Kitchener-Waterloo

Sentencing hearing set to begin Monday for man guilty of University of Waterloo stabbings

The man who pleaded guilty to stabbing two studentsand an instructor at the University of Waterloo in June 2023 will be in a Kitchener, Ont., courtroom on Monday for the start of his sentencing hearing.

5 days set aside to hear victim impact statements, sentencing submissions from Crown and defence

man smiling with glasses
Geovanny Villalba-Aleman has pleaded guilty to stabbing two studentsand an instructor at the University of Waterloo in June 2023. His sentencing hearing begins Monday. (Geovanny Villalba-Aleman/Facebook)

The man whopleaded guilty to stabbing an instructor and two students duringa gender-studies class at the University of Waterloo in 2023will be back in a Kitchener, Ont., courtroom Monday for the start of his sentencing hearing.

In June of this year, Geovanny Villalba-Alemanpleaded guilty to:

  • Two charges of aggravated assault.
  • Onecharge of assault causing bodily harm.
  • One charge of assault with a weapon.

Two studentsand an instructorwere stabbedin Hagey Hall on June 28, 2023. Police called it "a hate-motivated incident related to gender expression and gender identity."

A third student was also almost stabbed while trying to flee. About 40 studentswere inside the classroom at the time.

Warning: This video containsgraphic content:

Geovanny Villalba-Aleman abruptly confesses to stabbings after pretending to be a victim

5 months ago
Duration 3:20
WARNING: This video contains graphic content. Evidence presented in court includes footage from a body camera worn by an officer for the Waterloo Regional Police Service. This video shows the immediate aftermath of the stabbings at the University of Waterloo in June 2023. Geovanny Villalba-Aleman eventually confesses to the officer questioning him.

Video evidence presented in court showedVillalba-Alemaninitially told police he was a stabbing victim, then confessed to being the perpetratorand askedto be handcuffed.

"You know something actually please handcuff me, because it was me," he says on police body-camera footage. Hewas then handcuffed and shows officers where to find the kitchen knife inside his backpack.

The sentencing hearing is scheduled to take place over five days. The judge is expected to hear victim impact statements and sentencing submissions from both the Crown and the defence.