Donald Musselman sentenced to life, no parole for 12 years for ByWard Market murder of Markland Campbell

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Donald Musselman was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 12 years for the murder of Ottawa musician Markland Campbell, who was shot and killed in the ByWard Market in 2019 while defending his teenage daughter.

Campbell had rushed over to the market on the night of June 7, 2019 after his daughter told him she had been harassed. He was shot twice during a confrontation with a group of teenagers on the crowded market streets, which were packed with revellers enjoying a Toronto Raptors playoff game.

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Campbell, 42, performed under the stage name Jahiant Jahh with HalfSizeGiants, an Ottawa hip-hop collective that promoted non-violence and was set to return to national recognition after a 10-year hiatus when Campbell was killed.

Superior Court Justice Anne London-Weinstein admonished Musselman on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 for the shooting that also risked the lives of others on the busy streets.

Musselman, who was 18 at the time of the murder, denied throughout his trial that he killed Campbell and claimed another teenager in his group fired the gun that night.

The jury rejected that defence during Musselman’s trial. He was found guilty of second-degree murder in December.

He again denied killing Campbell during a sentencing hearing earlier this month, telling the judge: “I didn’t do this.”

Musselman’s defence lawyer, Leo Russomanno, said he intends to lodge an appeal.

“We fundamentally disagree with the jury’s verdict and our position is he was wrongfully convicted by this jury,” Russomanno said.

London-Weinstein acknowledged that Musselman expressed regret over the altercation, though he continued to deny responsibility for the shooting. His lack of specific remorse was a “neutral” factor — neither an aggravating nor a mitigating factor — in her sentencing decision, the judge said.

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A conviction for second-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence with a term that ranges from 10 to 25 years until a person can apply for parole.

The defence had argued for an 11-year period of parole ineligibility, and suggested Campbell had been carrying a pocket knife and “beset upon” the group in the moments before he was killed.

Russomanno said a partially-opened folding pocket knife, which was identified in court as one of Campbell’s personal belongings, was found along the path where he staggered and collapsed after he was shot.

Crown prosecutors urged London-Weinstein to reject the defence theory that Campbell was armed during the altercation.

Assistant Crown attorneys Lisa Miles and Matthew Geigen-Miller had called for an 18-year period of parole ineligibility, saying the ByWard Market killing was “motiveless, impulsive and senseless.”

The folding pocket knife was not an “offensive” weapon and bore the insignia of a trade union, Geigen-Miller said. It was one of several personal belongings that were found along the route Campbell took after he was shot, including his car keys and wallet that had fallen from his pockets.

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Eyewitnesses said they didn’t notice anything in Campbell’s hands when they testified at Musselman’s trial last fall.

“The only person who was noticed to have anything in his hand was Mr. Musselman — and witnesses saw a gun,” Geigen-Miller said.

The gun was recovered at Musselman’s home when he was arrested, and eyewitnesses described the shooter as wearing the same clothes that Musselman was seen wearing on surveillance video.

Musselman was also charged with possessing fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking and pleaded guilty to that charge prior to the start of his murder trial.

“He’s there with his friends with a loaded handgun in his pocket, he’s got fentanyl for sale… and when (Campbell) approaches his group in regards to a dispute that he’s not even involved in, he does not hesitate to fire two shots over scarcely anything,” Geigen-Miller said.

“He kills a man in cold blood over the slightest challenge.”

While he was in custody awaiting trial, Musselman was charged with aggravated assault for allegedly severely beating fellow inmate Zakaria Sheek-Hussein inside the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre on Feb. 24, 2021.

Sheek-Hussein died five months later and the assault charge against Musselman was upgraded to second-degree murder. Those charges have not been tested in court.

ahelmer@postmedia.com

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