A 72-year-old inmate who was serving a life sentence for stabbing a man 52 times and killing him in Chilliwack in 2016 has died in an Abbotsford prison.

Correctional Service Canada issued a press release Thursday (Sept. 26), saying Gerald Leslie Dolman died in custody at Pacific Institution on Tuesday (Sept. 24).

The cause of death was not released.

Dolman was sentenced in December 2017 to life in prison with no chance of parole for 11 years after killing Robert Splitt in front of the Save-On-Foods in downtown Chilliwack on May 3, 2016.

During Dolman's sentencing hearing, the court heard that he had spent tens of thousands of dollars over prior months buying drugs for a woman named Rebecca Burns in exchange for sex.

Burns was Splitt鈥檚 girlfriend and, on the day of the incident, Dolman returned home to find that $600 had gone missing from his home.

Dolman believed that Splitt and Burns were operating as a team to pilfer money from him, the court heard.

Later, while he was driving downtown, Dolman spotted Splitt driving with Burns in the passenger seat. Dolman followed the car and crashed into it in the parking lot at Save-On.

Burns fled the vehicle, and Dolman stabbed Splitt through the window of the car. The 49-year-old victim got away briefly but Dolman pursued him, continuing to stab him even on the ground, in front of horrified onlookers at the plaza.

Splitt died at the scene.

Dolman pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in October 2017. The crime comes with an automatic life sentence, but a sentencing hearing was held to determine the period until parole eligibility.

RELATED:

RELATED: