Sudbury man sentenced to 15 years for manslaughter in downtown stabbing death
It was an emotional day in a Sudbury courtroom Thursday as family and friends read victim impact statements in a manslaughter trial.
The fatal stabbing happened in downtown Sudbury near the provincial building in November of 2019. Preston Pellerin, 17, died of a single stab wound that punctured his heart.
The man responsible, 19-year-old Steffin Rees, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced Thursday to 15 years with no chance of parole for seven and half years.
The judge heard Rees grew up unloved and his lawyer, Robert Beckett, said the social system failed him.
"He was in 18 foster homes," Beckett said. "He was in, multiple times, in group homes and then at 18 he was put out on his own to live independently and he didn't have what it takes to be on his own."
The judge heard Rees and Pellerin were friends after meeting in a group home. They were in a dispute over a stolen lockbox belonging to Rees containing $80, speed pills and his birth certificate.
In the investigation, police recovered rap lyrics written by Rees about harming Pellerin. The judge also heard Pellerin was a childhood cancer survivor, only to die at such a young age.
Before being sentenced, Rees apologized to the victim's family and said he will take as much therapy that is available.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
What happens after we die? Most Canadians say an afterlife does exist, survey shows
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.