A packed Edmonton courtroom, filled with family and friends of 26-year-old Tyler Johnson, heard Justice James Neilson sentence his killer to life in prison with no chance of parole for 17 years on Friday.

Brianna Ruf-Deitz was found guilty of second-degree murder in September, a conviction that carries an automatic life sentence.

“The 17 years she got, I think that’s fair,” Tina Kinnee-Brown, Johnson’s mother, said outside the courthouse. “I think she’s not remorseful at all.”  

Johnson disappeared in January 2021. His burned remains were discovered weeks later inside a home in Maskwacis, Alta., after Ruf-Deitz led undercover RCMP officers to the location.

Before the sentence was delivered, Ruf-Deitz addressed the court, apologizing to Johnson’s family and friends.

“I’m sorry that I brought Tyler out there,” she said. “I’m sorry that he’s passed away.”

Ruf-Deitz added she is “not asking for any type of forgiveness.

“[I’m] just asking … that they let Tyler rest in their hearts.”

Emotional victim impact statements were read to the court, many describing Johnson as kind and loving. 

“Your absence is loud, but your love is louder,” Kinnee-Brown read.

Her statement recounted her experience through the stages of grief. 

“I found out these are not stages of grief to me, I live all of these everyday,” she read.

Many of the statements described the hurt and impact the death has had on Johnson’s mother. 

Neilson told court that the statements he heard Friday were eloquent and heartfelt.

The investigation

The police investigation into Johnson’s death saw undercover officers approach Ruf-Deitz in Red Deer at one point while they posed as criminals searching for Johnson, claiming he owed them money. During their conversation, Ruf-Deitz admitted she had shot him.

In exchange for $2,000, she agreed to show the officers where his body was located.

Court heard Ruf-Deitz told officers she shot Johnson with a sawed-off shotgun after accusing him of snooping through her belongings and writing notes about her drug activities and firearms. 

She said she returned to the Maskwacis home — where his remains were eventually found — several times to try to burn the body.

When investigators found Johnson’s remains on March 8, 2021, his body was badly burned and part of his left arm was missing.

“Tyler Johnson was … charismatic, charming,” Kinnee-Brown said outside the courthouse. “His laugh could make you laugh whether you were here or across the world.”

Outside the courthouse on Friday, Johnson’s father thanked investigators and officials involved in the case.