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Sean Carl Patterson, 38, pleaded guilty on Monday, Dec. 18 to manslaughter. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)
guilty plea

Guilty plea entered for fatal stabbing attack near Port Place mall

Dec 18, 2023 | 1:38 PM

NANAIMO — A pending BC Supreme Court trial was canceled after a man pleaded guilty to a stabbing early this year which left a man dead.

Sean Carl Patterson pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter on Monday, Dec. 18 in BC Supreme Court in Nanaimo in response to a man’s death on the evening of Jan. 22 outside Port Place Shopping Centre.

Initially charged with second degree murder, the accused agreed to plead guilty to the reduced charge before Justice Robin Baird.

The Crown’s Nick Barber said an assessment to determine any mental health concerns will take place to assist with the sentencing process.

The offender’s mental capacity at the time of the offence is not at issue, Barber emphasized.

The incident occurred in the mall’s main parking lot off Terminal Ave, resulting in the death of Serguei Chiliakov.

Patterson, 38, who was earlier ordered to stand trial, remains in custody.

He has no prior criminal record in the province.

Chiliakov was one of two homicides to occur in the Nanaimo area this year, with the death of Wendy Head being the other case under police investigation.

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