Glenn Worme is remembered by his eldest daughter as a creative man who loved to dance. He was killed in a stabbing on May 4, 2022 at the age of 37.
Glenn Worme loved to dance.
He showcased his rhythm and movement at powwows near and far from his home on George Gordon First Nation.
Starlynn, the oldest of his five children, recalls that even when he was at home, his feet would move.
In May of 2022, with her high school graduation was approaching, she and her dad talked about the occasion. They talked about him renting a tux.
But her dad wasn’t there when the time came, because on May 4 of that year, at age 37, he was stabbed and left to die in a ditch.
He was a creative man. He had lots of ideas. Lots of dreams. Now she sees him in sunsets, and in herself when she looks in the mirror, through the facial features he passed down to her.
A pathologist found Worme sustained 14 “sharp force” injuries, and died of blood loss, according to an agreed statement of facts read into the record by Crown prosecutor Chris White in Regina’s Court of King’s Bench last Thursday.
The prosecutor also read a number of victim impact statements, including one from Starlynn, which offered a glimpse into who Worme was to those who loved him, and informed the writing of this article.
On Thursday, Justice Lana Krogan handed them both youth sentences of just over two years and two months. Two thirds of that is to be served in custody, with the remainder to be served in the community under supervision.
The sentence was one submitted jointly by White and defence lawyers Jamie Struthers and Shane Wagner, each of whom represented one of the teens.
A statement of facts, agreed to by all parties, suggest Worme left his girlfriend’s residence on the First Nation after an argument and was on foot when he came into contact with three male youths, those being the two eventually charged and another who was not.
The facts reference allegations that Worme inquired about whether one of the boys was related to someone else on reserve, and then attacked the boy, bringing about a struggle and the stabbing.
However, those allegations were never tested in a trial.
None of the youths “offered the victim any assistance, nor did they summon help for him knowing the condition that they left him in,” White said.
The idea that Worme was left to die alone has deeply distressed his mother, Kerry, whose victim impact statement was read by White. She wrote that she chose to stay on the First Nation and work to support Worme’s children, despite having to drive past the scene each day.
“I can never forgive you for taking Glenn away from us,” she wrote.
“Glenn was loved and Glenn mattered.”
Worme’s aunt Brenda read her own statement. She said she considered Worme her own son.
“The hardest thing I had to do was act strong for my family as I planned his funeral with his mother who was so broken.”
She told court she teaches at the school where some of Worme’s children attend.
“They are not happy children. They once were.”
“They’ve withdrawn from their friends, they barely speak to anyone,” she said.
When she feels down, she said she spends time at the graveyard where Worme is buried, and where his children spend their holidays.
Worme’s cousin Nicole wrote that she used to travel to powwows with the now-deceased man, who she considered a big brother and protector.
“I always said I’ll dance with you again, when you dance, not ever to think I’d be the person to tie up his moccasins in his coffin.”
One of the two youths responsible chose not to speak when offered the opportunity. The other chose to rise and address Worme’s family.
“Every day I think about what happened and I regret it,” he said before apologizing.
“Every day I pray for forgiveness.”
He said he sits in his cell and thinks about whether things would’ve been different if he hadn’t left Worme, if he’d called for help, if he stayed by the injured man’s side.
The judge said the crime brought about the “ultimate deprivation” by way of Worme’s death and she drove home the seriousness of the offences committed.
“Society does not give up on those serving sentences,” Krogan said before noting both convicted teens have time to consider where their futures will take them.
“Choose well,” she urged.
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