The Crown wants Craig Pope to spend at least 12 years in prison before he can apply for parole.

That was the submission made during the sentencing hearing in Supreme Court on Friday.

Pope was convicted in December of second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Jonathan Collins in 2017.

It’s the second time he’s been found guilty of the crime after the first conviction was overturned on appeal.

It comes with a minimum life sentence with no chance of parole for 10 years, up to a maximum of 25.

The defence is seeking the minimum, while the Crown says 12 years is appropriate — same as the first trial.

Justice Glen Noel must weigh all the mitigating and aggravating factors in landing on his own number, including the gut-wrenching stories of unimaginable grief which the victim’s mother and sister struggled to tell the court.

The judge, meanwhile, expressed frustration with not having a satisfactory explanation for the murder, noting Pope himself has remained silent, as is his right.

Noel was also skeptical of the murder being over $60 for a cab, as the trial heard.

“Two good families both got life sentences here,” he told the packed courtroom. “I’m looking for something, anything, to understand how it came to this.”

Jonathan Collins’ mother, Yvonne Noseworthy, told the court her son’s death wasn’t real until she saw him in a coffin.

“That’s when I fell apart” both emotionally and physically, she said.

“I know what I have. It’s called broken heart syndrome.”

Craig Pope will be sentenced on February 29th.