A 38-year-old Nanaimo man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter after a fatal stabbing at the Port Place Mall in January.
Sean Carl Patterson was originally charged with the second-degree murder of Serguei Chiliakhov on Jan. 22.
At a brief court appearance Monday in B.C. Supreme Court in Nanaimo, he entered a guilty plea to manslaughter.
The court has ordered a psychological assessment to assist at Patterson’s sentencing. A date for the hearing is expected to be set on Feb. 26.
On Jan. 22 around 7 p.m., police, fire and paramedics responded to a report that a man had walked into the mall with a stab wound after being attacked in the parking lot near London Drugs.
The victim, now identified as Chiliakhov, was rushed to hospital but later died of his injuries.
A short time later, Patterson was arrested and taken into custody.
