The two people charged with murdering a man in downtown Calgary have long criminal histories and have each previously been charged with killing or trying to kill someone.

Jennifer Lee Caswell, 43, and Steven Morris Firingstoney, 41, have been charged with second-degree murder in the January death of Samuel Mulugeta, 34.

Caswell and Firingstoney are believed to be the only two people responsible for the fatal attack, according to police, despite investigators initially seeking a third individual. 

Victim died on sidewalk

In the early morning hours of Jan. 12, 2025, officers were called to the 700 block of Fifth Street S.W., where Mulugeta was found dead on the sidewalk. 

At the time, police said they believed Mulugeta walked along the CTrain platform at Third Street just after 4 a.m., when he crossed paths with a group of people.

Following a brief interaction, Mulugeta was robbed and assaulted. He walked several blocks while injured before collapsing on the sidewalk, police say.

Police now say the victim and the accused did not know each other before the killing. 

Long history of crimes

Firingstoney was in custody when police laid the murder charge on Monday.

Two weeks ago, Firingstoney was found guilty of assault, firearms and drugs offences, and was handed a four-month sentence.  

In 2022, Firingstoney was convicted of assault with a weapon, drug possession and breaches stemming from a police investigation into organized crime at encampments around the Drop-In Centre.

And court records show Firingstoney was convicted in 2005 of sexual assault, and break and enter to commit sexual assault, stemming from an incident in Wetaskiwin, Alta.

He was also charged with attempted murder and robbery after a 75-year-old man was stabbed in the parking lot of a Wetaskiwin Walmart in 2015. Court records do not show the outcome of that charge.

Court records show Caswell was previously charged with second-degree murder in Red Deer in 2019. Those charges were withdrawn the next year when the Crown cited no reasonable likelihood of conviction. 

But Caswell was convicted of assault causing bodily harm and was handed an eight-month sentence in connection with the assault of that homicide victim’s girlfriend.

Caswell has been in trouble with the law in Okotoks, Red Deer and Calgary, and currently has seven sets of offences before the courts. 

Caswell and Firingstoney remain in custody.Â