A Winnipeg Indigenous woman who killed her best friend in a drunk driving accident will serve her sentence at home, a judge ruled, citing her racial background and life shaped by trauma and discrimination.
Jayden Starr Okemow, 23, pleaded guilty to driving with a blood alcohol level exceeding .08 causing the death of Hayley Linklater. The crash occurred on May 28, 2023, when Okemow, then 20, and Linklater, 23, were drinking at Winnipeg Beach Provincial Park. They decided to drive to another beach for swimming.
Traveling south at 83 km/h in a 50 km/h residential zone, Okemow lost control at a slight curve, hit the gravel shoulder, and crashed into an embankment. The vehicle vaulted 80 feet and landed on its driver's side. Linklater, not wearing a seatbelt, was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene. Okemow's blood alcohol readings were over three times the legal limit.
Provincial Court of Manitoba Judge Wanda Garreck applied the Gladue principle and R. v. Ipeelee, which consider systemic and background factors related to Indigeneity. She stated, "I am satisfied this is one of the 'clearest of cases' for imposing a sentence that is significantly outside the usual range for this offence."
The prosecution sought five years of custody, but Garreck gave Okemow two years less a day to be served on house arrest. Okemow had no prior criminal record aside from Highway Traffic Act infractions.
Okemow's pre-sentence report revealed she spent her earliest years in foster care before living with her grandmother in a First Nation community until age 13. Her father was often incarcerated or in psychiatric care due to criminal activity, substance use, and mental health struggles. Both grandparents were survivors of Indian Residential Schools and struggled with alcohol use, though Okemow described her upbringing as generally supportive.
Between ages 13 and 15, Okemow lived with her mother on another reserve but returned to foster care due to her mother's substance use.
