SaskatchewanLevi Noltcho, 23, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of Mason Morrison, who was stabbed in a home in Dillon, Sask., on Feb. 17, 2025.Levi Noltcho pleaded guilty to manslaughter in February death of Mason MorrisonHannah Spray · CBC News · Posted: Nov 28, 2025 3:33 PM EST | Last Updated: 7 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Levi Noltcho, seen here, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of a 25-year-old man who was attacked in Dillon, Sask., on Feb. 17, 2025. (Slave Lake Icedogs/Facebook)A young man from Dillon, Sask., has been sentenced to eight years in prison after admitting his role in a stabbing death in the community earlier this year.Levi Noltcho, 23, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced last week during a court sitting in the community, located on Buffalo River Dene Nation and about 450 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon.Noltcho admitted he participated in assaulting and stabbing 25-year-old Mason Morrison on Feb. 17, 2025. The other person accused, a 17-year-old boy whose identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, remains before the courts.Crown prosecutor Peter Short said Morrison, Noltcho and the youth were among a group of people drinking in a home in Dillon. At one point, Noltcho and the teen left, and Morrison went to sleep on a couch.Noltcho and the youth returned and began assaulting Morrison, according to a witness.”She indicated that they came over to the couch where Mr. Morrison was sleeping, and she says that Mr. Noltcho began striking Mr. Morrison with his fists while [the youth] made what appeared to be stabbing motions,” Short said in court.Mason Morrison was 25 years old when he was killed in February. (Martens Warman Funeral Home)Morrison bled to death from one of the stab wounds to his leg, which hit a major artery, the autopsy report indicated.The balance of witness evidence indicates the 17-year-old accused was likely the one holding the knife, Short said. However, the youth and Noltcho had formed the common intention of assaulting Morrison, which resulted in his death, which amounts to manslaughter, the prosecutor said.’I’m sorry to the people that I hurt’Defence lawyer Brian Pfefferle said Noltcho wanted to enter a guilty plea as soon as he could, to take responsibility for what he did so he could begin serving his sentence and access programming in prison.He had difficulties in his childhood, including exposure to his parents’ substance abuse and domestic violence. They both had “issues with the criminal justice system” that led to Noltcho being apprehended, Pfefferle said.However, in his youth, “notwithstanding some tumultuous times,” Noltcho led a productive life, the defence lawyer said. He played junior hockey, but has struggled with alcohol abuse. “I just want to say that I’m sorry to the people that I hurt,” Noltcho said in court. “I just want to move forward, to be good and I take full responsibility. I wish that never happened, and I’m very sorry to the family.”The Crown and defence jointly submitted a sentence recommendation of eight years in prison, which Pfefferle characterized as being “right in the middle” of the general range for manslaughter sentences of between four and 12 years. The maximum manslaughter sentence is life in prison.Provincial court Judge Kim Armstrong agreed that eight years was appropriate. With credit for his time on remand, Noltcho has just less than seven years left to serve.ABOUT THE AUTHORHannah Spray is a reporter and editor for CBC Saskatoon. She began her journalism career in newspapers, first in her hometown of Meadow Lake, Sask., moving on to Fort St. John, B.C., and then to the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.
Dillon man, 23, sentenced to 8 years for stabbing death in northwest Sask.
