Vancouver judge reduces murder charge to manslaughter in stabbing case
A British Columbia judge has convicted Inderdeep Singh Gosal, 34, of manslaughter rather than second-degree murder over the fatal stabbing of Paul Schmidt, 37, outside a Vancouver Starbucks in March 2023, ruling that Schmidt had been the initial aggressor. The case has drawn attention because the killing happened in front of Schmidt's three-year-old daughter after he confronted Gosal for smoking marijuana near the café entrance, and the reduced charge means Gosal faces a lighter sentence than a murder conviction would have carried.
Surveillance footage played at the judge-alone trial showed Schmidt approaching Gosal, throwing him to the ground and cornering him before Gosal pulled a knife and stabbed him six times in the torso and neck within 28 seconds. Gosal's lawyers argued he was suffering a mental health crisis, citing untreated schizophrenia after he stopped taking antipsychotic medication, and that he believed a knife he carried was a "sign from God" telling him to protect himself; prosecutors highlighted inconsistencies in his account. Justice Kathleen Ker said Gosal was no longer acting in self-defence but was "disinhibited and angry" while genuinely fearing for his life, and he may receive credit for time already served when sentenced at a hearing yet to be scheduled.
- Vancouver killer convicted of manslaughter, not murder, over Starbucks stabbing
- Victim Paul Schmidt confronted Gosal about smoking weed near café entrance
- Judge cited victim's aggression and Gosal's untreated schizophrenia in ruling
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Gosal, who was 34, killed Paul Schmidt, 37, outside a Vancouver Starbucks in March 2023 after Schmidt confronted him for smoking marijuana near the entrance. The confrontation escalated quickly, and Gosal fatally stabbed Schmidt, an encounter that was captured on surveillance footage and took place in front of Schmidt's young daughter.
The case went before a judge alone, without a jury, at the British Columbia Supreme Court. Prosecutors had sought a second-degree murder conviction, while Gosal's defence argued he was in the grip of a mental health crisis, having stopped taking medication for schizophrenia, and acted out of a distorted sense of self-protection.
The outcome matters because the distinction between murder and manslaughter carries very different legal consequences in Canada, particularly around sentencing. It also touches on wider questions about how the courts weigh self-defence, provocation and mental illness in violent crime, and on public concern about a killing witnessed by a small child.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Dad stabbed to death in front of his toddler at Starbucks for asking stranger to stop smoking weed… now Canadian judge has let killer off lightly”.