SASKATOON - The night Dallas Brandon Buffalo turned of age to drink legally, he got so drunk he beat his beloved father into a coma from which he never awoke.

The extreme violence of the attack on Terrance Kapay, 42, left him unrecognizable to his 12-year-old daughter, who witnessed the end of the protracted assault early on the morning of June 18, 2014 in Saskatoon, according to Crown prosecutor Cory Bliss.

The crime shocked everyone who knew the father and son, who were so close that some said they were best friends.

Buffalo has received an unusual level of support from his family, friends, coworkers and employer, 12 of whom made statements at his sentencing hearing Monday at Court of Queen's Bench.

Justice Gerry Allbright sentenced Buffalo to six years for manslaughter, which will be reduced to five years, after credit for time spent on house arrest and wearing an electronic monitor.

Buffalo, now 21, was so intoxicated he doesn't remember any of the incident that began sometime after 4 a.m. when friends had to carry him into the apartment after celebrating his 19th birthday. The friends later told police Buffalo had become increasingly aggressive the more he drank, Bliss said.

Neighbours, who called police just before 6 a.m., told officers they heard stomping, shouting, swearing and the victim begging Buffalo to stop.

Kapay was taken to hospital with severe head and facial injuries and was "essentially in a coma" for two weeks, until he was taken off life support, Bliss said. The cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma.

Buffalo was originally charged with aggravated assault, which was elevated to manslaughter. He was released on bail soon after and complied with strict conditions of house arrest and maintained employment. He pleaded guilty in May 2016.

Buffalo, who was described by some at the hearing as a "gentle giant," is 6 feet tall and weighs about 240 lbs. He lived with his father and helped pay the bills.

Kapay was thin and frail. He had diabetes that required dialysis four times per week and didn't drink. Buffalo always drove him to and from the hospital. Relatives remember them always laughing and joking together. Buffalo told police his father had never laid a hand on him.

Buffalo's childhood suffered from the ongoing effects of Indian residential schools, defence lawyer Marie-Therese Bayda said.

His mother had an alcohol problem and he sometimes felt unsafe at home. He lived with various extended family members.

"He was an unsettled boy who grew into an unsettled teen," she said.

Buffalo turned to traditional spirituality after his father's death and has followed the guidance of elders by quitting alcohol and drugs, going to counselling, apologizing to family and going to ceremony.

His actions have moved his family and community to forgive him and want him to return after serving his sentence.

Holdt said he advanced Buffalo money to help pay for his father's funeral and Buffalo has justified his faith in him. He said Buffalo has become a better man in the past two years, and he hopes the prison sentence won't undo those improvements.

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