British ColumbiaCharlene Marie Alexander was arrested and charged with murder for a July 2020 stabbing attack outside the city’s courthouse. She was given a sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole for 10 years for the killing of 26-year-old Jessie Mae Hayward-Lines.Charlene Alexander was given a sentence of life in prison with no possibility of parole for 10 yearsHanna Petersen · CBC News · Posted: Nov 04, 2025 3:47 PM EST | Last Updated: 6 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesA memorial poster for Jessie Mae Hayward-Lines, 26, who was stabbed outside the Prince George courthouse on July 2, 2020. (Betsy Trumpener/CBC)A Prince George, B.C., woman has been sentenced to life in prison with no possiblity of parole for 10 years after killing a woman outside the city’s courthouse on July 2, 2020.Charlene Jane Alexander, 60, was charged in the July 2020 stabbing death of 26-year-old Jessie-Mae Hayward-Lines, who was taken to hospital after being attacked, but died of her wounds the next morning.Alexander was initially charged with a single count of first-degree murder, but has been convicted of second-degree murder.Justice Neena Sharma explained that on the evening of July 2, Hayward-Lines, who was unhoused at the time, was playing music from a speaker outside the city’s courthouse.A memorial for Jessie Mae Hayward-Lines who was fatally stabbed outside the Prince George courthouse on July 2, 2020. (Betsy Trumpener/CBC)Over a period of two hours, Alexander, who was also unhoused, confronted her about the music.She then returned to the shelter where she was staying, got her knife, returned to the courthouse steps and then stabbed Hayward-Lines three times. Crown prosecutors sought a period of parole ineligibility of 12 to 15 years, while defence lawyer Lisa Helps argued for 10 years of parole ineligibility. Sharma said the victim impact statements submitted by Hayward-Lines’ friends and family had many common themes. “Jessie-Mae was a ray of light even in her darker times. Her family was everything to her. She made the world better just by existing in it,” she said. “I have no doubt words cannot express the loss you feel.”Gladue factors consideredSharma also weighed Gladue factors during sentencing, stating they were substantial and significant, highlighting that Alexander attended Lejac Residential School, as did both her parents and siblings. The Gladue process is the result of a 1999 Supreme Court decision and aims to address the overrepresentation of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people in the prison system. It is a way to convey contextual information to a judge about an Indigenous person’s history and the ways that they have been impacted by colonialism.Sharma said that, while attending residential school, Alexander experienced physical, emotional and sexual abuse and continued to endure abuse from her own family. “Both violence and alcoholism were normalized for her at a young age,” the judge said. “She was in the grip of substance abuse at the time of the offence.” WATCH | The purpose of Gladue reports:Gladue reports explain an Indigenous person’s history, their family’s history and their community’s history to the courts, in order to take the individual’s unique circumstances and challenges into consideration.Sharma also said she did not accept the Crown’s position that Alexander was not genuine in her statements of remorse, citing a pre-sentence report where Alexander said she will regret her actions for the rest of her life. The justice added that, while incarcerated, Alexander has also taken concrete steps to address her alcoholism and anger issues. “The sentence I am imposing does not guarantee she will get parole in 10 years, that is up to the parole board and to Miss Alexander,” said Sharma.The maximum penalty for second-degree murder is life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years.
Prince George woman gets life in prison for fatal stabbing outside courthouse
