Michael Kelly has been found guilty of murder, and has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
A jury found Kelly guilty Friday afternoon of first-degree murder for his role in the 2000 shooting death of his then common-law spouse, Judie Thibault. Hours after the jury’s verdict was read, he was sentenced to life in prison by Judge John Wright, with no chance of parole for 25 years.
Thibault’s daughter Susan Boulanger told the court through a victim’s impact statement that she’s lived through terror and horror in the years since her mother disappeared.
She said she fears telling her children the way their grandmother died; in terror without loved ones around.
“No one should have to die that way,” she told the court.
Boulanger said that her life changed with a phone call in November of 2000 when she was told her mother was missing.
“Thus began the months and years of chaos,” she said.
Her life felt like a dream for the next four years until Thibault’s body was found wrapped in a carpet off Wolf Lake Road near Dorion.
She also spoke of the frustration and sadness she felt having to find out the cause of her mother’s death through the television news rather than in person.
Speaking to media after the sentencing, Boulanger offered thanks to the police for their investigation, as well as the Crown, judge and jury.
She said all she wanted was justice for her mother, which she got Friday.
“No one really wins in a situation like this. Everybody loses, but at least my mom has closure. I feel good about what happened today,” she said.
Crown attorney Dan Mitchell said it was a great day for the administration of justice. And the fact that the jury deliberated for only two days shows that they did not need to re-examine evidence presented in the three-week trial.
“Convinced not only with respect to the fact that he (Kelly) killed Judie Thibault but he planned it and deliberated upon it,” Mitchell said.
Kelly refused to comment as he left the courthouse with police.
His lawyer Gil Labine refused comment, but did say Kelly plans to appeal.
The Crown and defence attorneys presented final submissions to the jury Wednesday.
Each posed a question for consideration before the juries were sent for deliberations.
In order to make a case against Kelly, police staged a sting operation involving an insurance fraud scheme that would allegedly pay out $500,000.
Two undercover police officers were involved. One officer played the role of a corrupt private investigator while the other was said to be a dying cancer patient.
Kelly was led to believe that both he and the ill man would benefit from the scheme.
Mitchell led off with his submission and requested the jury answer the question of who killed Judie Thibault? It was a question the judge had issue with in a final submission, but was also what the Crown had asked the jury in its opening statements.
Labine had a different question before deliberations.
The question Labine wanted the jury to answer was whether Kelly lied to the undercover police to get the $500,000, or did he tell the truth during his confession?
Follow Jamie Smith on Twitter: @Jsmithreporting
