The mother of two Saint John boys who were stabbed to death by their father last year says no sentence can bring back her sons, “the greatest joy” of her life.
“Nothing that happens in a courtroom can lessen the loss of my children or the grief that I will carry with me for the rest of my life,” Roman Kamyshnyy’s ex-wife wrote in a statement issued after his sentencing Thursday in the New Brunswick Court of King’s Bench.
Kamyshnyy, 46, was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years after a jury found him guilty in June of two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of the boys, aged 10 and 17.
Justice Darrell Stephenson noted it’s an automatic sentence stipulated by the Criminal Code, and while each charge carries that sentence, the law also requires the sentences be served concurrently.
“I must, consistent with my duties as a trial judge, keep in mind the limits of my own authority. … I must say, I’ve never felt more constrained by that reality than today,” he told the courtroom after telling Kamyshnyy he had “no desire to waste further words on [him].”
“Words simply cannot capture the horror and depravity of Mr. Kamyshnyy’s actions and the impact they have had on the lives of so many.” Most notable among these, Stephenson said, are Kamyshnyy’s ex-wife, identified only as Witness A because of a publication ban, and her family.
Kamyshnyy’s motive was “quite simply vengeance,” the judge said, as nearly all the jurors who convicted Kamyshnyy returned to court to witness his sentencing, looking on from the public gallery.
Roman Kamyshnyy was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years for the 2025 murders of his sons in Saint John. The judge said Kamyshnyy killed the boys, 10 and 17, as an act of vengeance toward his ex-wife over the end of their marriage. Warning: This story contains graphic descriptions of domestic violence.
Evidence presented at the two-week trial and the testimony of 23 Crown witnesses showed Kamyshnyy made and carried out his plan to murder his children to hurt his ex-wife “in the most gruesome manner imaginable [over] the ending of their marriage,” Stephenson said.
Witness A had divorced Kamyshnyy just two months prior and was in Ottawa for a work conference on Jan. 29, 2025, the day of the killings, the trial heard.
Kamyshnyy stabbed each of his sons multiple times in their north end apartment, overcoming the teen after a “violent struggle heard by neighbours and captured on the 911 call,” which was played at trial, Stephenson said.
Betrayal of ‘epic proportions,’ Crown says
The teen, identified only as C.D., “fought for his life in his home against his father,” Crown prosecutor Elaina Campbell said Thursday.
He is not here to describe this betrayal, she said. “But I will ask the court to find that it was of epic proportions.
“That’s the man over there that was supposed to protect him at all costs,” Campbell said, turning to Kamyshnyy, who sat in the prisoner’s box, flanked by sheriff’s deputies.
These murders have had a profound, immeasurable impact on the community and “changed the fabric” of the greater Saint John area, Campbell said.
She described parents struggling to explain “this evil” to friends, classmates and teammates of the boys, and police officers who are haunted and heartbroken.
The killings “strike directly at the community’s obligation to care about the well-being of children,”Campbell said.
But the community’s response also carried an important message, she said. “These children were part of Saint John and their lives mattered.”
Kamyshnyy addressed the court. He maintained he did not remember what happened that day. The trial heard he shot himself in the head twice with a nail gun in an attempted suicide.
“It wasn’t predicted, it wasn’t planned … completely,” he said.
He also continued to blame his ex-wife before the judge cut him off.
Kamyshnyy showed no reaction to the sentence imposed, which included several conditions.
He was ordered to have no contact with his ex-wife, any members of her family or three other individuals, to submit a DNA sample, not to possess any firearms or weapons for life, and to pay a $400 victim fine surcharge.
Defence lawyer Shanna Wicks declined to comment after court on the possibility of an appeal.
The parole board will determine whether Kamyshnyy is granted parole after serving the minimum 25 years.
Several victim impact statements submitted
Several people submitted victim impact statements to the court, including Witness A’s mother, who described Kamyshnyy as a “monster” with a “deeply disturbed mind,” and Witness A’s brother, who said his “heart is shattered forever.”
Police officers, the manager of the 10-year-old’s basketball team, a counsellor from the high school the teen attended and Witness A’s lawyer, who is a former Saint John mayor, also submitted powerful statements about the impact on themselves, their co-workers, families and the community at large.
The boys’ mother made no submissions to the court and did not attend the hearing, which the Crown suggested “speaks volumes.
“This is not her worst nightmare because she doesn’t get to wake up from it.”
Boys ‘deeply loved, and full of promise’
The mother did issue a public statement through her lawyer, Mel Norton, who read it aloud to reporters outside the courthouse following the proceedings.
The sentencing “marks the end of a very long and painful chapter,” and she is grateful the person responsible for taking her children from her has been held accountable, she said.
As the case moves beyond the courtroom, however, she hopes her sons will be remembered not for how they died, but for how they lived.
“My children were so much more than the circumstances of their deaths. They were joyful, deeply loved, and full of promise.
“They had their own personalities, friendships, dreams, and futures.”
Life split into ‘before’ and ‘after’
In her victim impact statement, Witness A’s mother said Kamyshnyy destroyed the lives of her family and deeply traumatized many relatives and friends.
“Sadly, this trauma will remain with us for the rest of our lives,” wrote the woman, whose name is also protected by the publication ban. “Such an act leaves lasting scars on the heart and mind. It also shatters trust in people.
“Yet one thing can never be taken away from us: precious memories of the happiness, love and joy we shared. Those memories will remain with us forever.”
Witness A’s brother, whose name is also protected, said the murders have split his life into “before” and “after.”
The boys he held in his arms since they were infants were like his own, he said, noting the youngest was his godson. “It is impossible to describe the horror I have gone through.”
He fell into a deep depression and lives with constant anxiety, worrying about his sister, he said.
“Life will never be peaceful again.”
Continues to grieve, rebuild life
The boys’ mother said she is grateful to the first responders, criminal justice officials and citizens near and far who offered support, kindness and compassion “through an experience that no parent should ever have to endure.
“Your generosity has carried me through some of the darkest moments of my life.”
Her focus now, she said, is on carrying forward the memory of her sons, “honouring the lives they lived, and finding a way to move ahead with them always in [her] heart.”
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