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Calgarian Owen Gervais buried his head in his hands Friday as a judge ruled he would have to forfeit $100,000 because his son fled justice to avoid prosecution for first-degree murder.

But Justice Eric Macklin softened the blow somewhat for Gervais, as the Crown had sought $150,000 in bail money from the dad.

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Macklin agreed with Crown prosecutor Ken McCaffrey that the integrity of the bail system required the elder Gervais to pay a steep price for his son absconding before his trial.

Nathan Gervais was scheduled to stand trial in May 2016 for first-degree murder in the Nov. 23, 2013, stabbing and beating death of Lukas Strasser-Hird.

But Gervais failed to show up for his trial, and his dad testified he disappeared weeks earlier after the father and son had argued over the accused’s friends smoking dope at their southeast Calgary home.

Photo by Facebook / Calgary Herald

The younger Gervais had been granted bail in November 2014 under strict conditions, which included house arrest.