A Regina man who was charged in connection to a woman’s death in August pleaded guilty to manslaughter in front of a judge and a packed courtroom on Friday.

He also pleaded guilty to the assault of a police officer. 

Kristopher Kyle Soby was facing a single count of second-degree murder after Amber Dawn Robson was found dead on the evening of Aug. 23.

Officers with the Regina Police Service (RPS) were called to a home on the 1000 block of King Street , where they discovered Robson unresponsive at the scene. She was pronounced dead by EMS and Soby was arrested at the scene.

A death investigation began immediately after the incident, with RPS concluding that Robson’s death was the result of a homicide, Regina’s fourth of 2024.

At the Court of King’s Bench on Friday, the Crown read from Soby’s agreed statement of facts, which was part of a plea deal to get Soby down from a murder charge to a manslaughter charge. Robson and Soby, who were dating at the time, were doing mushrooms the evening of Aug. 23.

Their relationship seemed to be going well. They had plans of moving in together in the fall and getting married. 

According to the agreed statement of facts, Soby stabbed Robson multiple times after a mushroom induced psychosis was triggered. The Crown said the pair had used mushrooms before but there has never been a known use of violence during their highs.

Soby also stabbed himself in the neck that evening, the Crown said. When emergency crews arrived, Soby was found lying in the backyard, naked and covered in blood. 

He was taken into custody and transported to hospital to treat his wound, then assaulted a police officer by spitting water in his face.

The Crown stated that Soby had no logical reason to harm Robson, and if he hadn’t gotten high, this would not have happened. 

Robson had called 911 that evening because she was concerned for Soby, the Crown said. However, Robson was stabbed and killed before paramedics arrived. She was 37.

While the Crown read the information, Soby was crying profusely.

Victim impact statements were read by family, friends, and work colleagues of Robson, with her parents taking the stand as well.

“I’m glad he was convicted. There is absolutely no doubt in anybody’s mind that he did kill Amber in a very violent, brutal manner. We got justice today for her,” said Tammy MacDonald, Robson’s mom.

“She was an amazing person. I mean, look at the people that showed up to support her. She’s an awesome daughter, big sister, niece. She’s loved by many,” MacDonald explained.

Soby made a statement in court, expressing his remorse for what happened.

“I never meant for this to happen,” he said. “I was reckless and irresponsible.”

“All I can do is take ownership for my actions.”

Soby was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for both charges. He has credit for time already served. He has six years and 11 months left in his sentence.

Robson’s mother doesn’t believe his sentence is enough.

“Personally, I don’t think it should be any different than somebody who drinks a 40 and drives down the street killing somebody. He made that decision, and, on several occasions, Amber had pointed it out to him that too much was too much.”

“If he does his full sentence, six years and 11 months, he’s going to walking the street with everybody. Is he a dangerous person? No. If he gets high again on mushrooms, as it’s been proven to be done before, he could be and that scares me,” Robson’s mom added.