The murder of Mark Mariani by two former members of a Calgary neo-Nazi group, Tyler William Sturrup and Robert David Reitmeier, is detailed in the latest episode of Murder Board on Investigation Discovery.
In the early hours of October 3, 2010, Mariani, 47, was walking in an alley behind a strip mall at the corner of 1540 16th Ave. N.W in Calgary, Alberta, Canada when he crossed paths with two men, Sturrup and Reitmeier, as they were spray-painting graffiti.
In an unprovoked attack, Sturrup and Reitmeier knocked Mariani to the ground where they proceeded to kick and stomp on his head and body for an unknown period of time.
When they fled the scene to a friend’s house, Mariani crawled to his vehicle that was parked in a nearby parking lot, but bled to death before he was able to raise the alarm.
At the time of the attack, Mariani was unable to defend himself as he suffered from Crohn’s disease and had a bag connected to his digestive tract through a hole in his abdomen.
He had previously undergone surgery in hopes that it would change his life.
A medical examiner determined that Mariani died from blunt force trauma to the head, and he sustained multiple injuries to his skull and neck. He also had several broken ribs.
An investigation led to the arrests of Sturrup and Reitmeier in 2011. They were charged with second-degree murder.
Sturrup pled guilty to the charges. He told a judge that he brutally attacked Mariani for no reason and has since apologized to the victim’s family.
He was sentenced to life in prison and won’t be eligible for parole until after he has served 10 years.
Reitmeier was found guilty in November 2013 and was sentenced to life in prison. He will be eligible for parole after 13 years.
Sturrup and Reitmeier appealed their sentence, but their appeals were rejected by a panel of three judges.
Murder Board — Dead End Alley, airs at 9/8c on Investigation Discovery.