Vancouver man convicted of manslaughter in Starbucks stabbing death

Inderdeep Singh Gosal has been found guilty of manslaughter in the March 2023 killing of Paul Schmidt outside a Vancouver Starbucks. While Gosal was originally charged with second-degree murder, the B.C. Supreme Court ruled that a manslaughter conviction was more appropriate.

CCTV footage and eyewitness accounts showed a verbal confrontation between the two men. The altercation began when Schmidt, who was pushing his daughter in a stroller, confronted Gosal for smoking near the coffee shop entrance. The situation turned physical, and Gosal stabbed Schmidt six times.

During the judge-alone trial, the defense argued that the attack was an “overreaction due to mental illness” rather than a deliberate attempt to kill. Gosal, who has schizophrenia, testified that he had stopped taking his medication months prior and believed a knife he possessed was a “sign from God” for his protection. However, Crown prosecutors highlighted inconsistencies in Gosal’s testimony regarding the purchase of the knife and his alcohol consumption.