Kris Warkentin

Kris Warkentin was an engineering student who was convicted of the manslaughter of graduate student David Zaharchuk. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Murder
For the full story of the murder and its investigation, see The Murder of David Zaharchuk.

At the time of the murder, Warkentin was 23 years old and in his 3B term of Engineering. He was very drunk and he had been in an argument with his wife. He was set to leave for an 8-month coop term in Hinton, Alberta later that day. With a desire to play computer games, he found himself wandering the computer labs of CPH and DWE early in the morning. However, since his academic term was over, his computer account was suspended and he was unable to log in. After failing to convince several students to log him in, he began roving the halls, smashing windows and causing damage to property. When David Zaharchuk stepped outside his lab to see what all the noise was, he was bludgeoned by Warkentin many times with a wrench and was dead almost immediately after.

After police investigation led to him becoming the prime suspect, Kris Warkentin turned himself in on February 1, 1993. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.