Prince Albert police lay first-degree murder charge in death of 'always funny' father of four

Norman Wenzel (Courtesy: Robyn Smith)

Prince Albert police have charged a man in the stabbing death of 41-year-old Norman Wenzel last month.

On Monday, officers arrested 38-year-old Quentin Gardiner and charged him with first-degree murder in the death of Wenzel, a father of four killed on Canada Day long weekend.

Wenzel’s oldest daughter Kerissa Wenzel-Smith told CTV News in July that her father was stabbed in the yard.

“I heard him outside, banging at the door,” the 17-year-old said.

“I didn’t know who it was until I looked out the window and I saw my dad laying on the stairs.”

Police and paramedics were called to the home on Kemp Crescent at around 1:15 a.m. on July 1.

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Officers found Wenzel suffering from “severe injuries.” He was taken to Victoria Hospital, where he died.

Wenzel’s partner of about 20 years, Robyn Smith, remembers him as a jokester.

“He was always funny, always joking around,” Smith says.

Gardiner made his first appearance in provincial court on Tuesday.

Police are asking anyone with more information about the killing to contact police or Crime Stoppers.

-With files from Laura Woodward