THUNDER BAY - A man who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of a 22-year-old woman in 2015 will spend the next three and a half years in a federal prison.
During a sentencing hearing in Ontario Superior Court on Monday, Cruz Pelletier, 20, of Fort William First Nation, was sentenced to eight years after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the death of 22-year-old Larissa Charlie-Stillaway in June, 2015.
The sentence was reduced to seven years after Justice Fitzpatrick took into consideration the conditions of his incarceration at the Thunder Bay District Jail, which included the Dec. 2015 riot.
With time already served, Pelletier will remain in jail for the next 1,319 days, as well as being prohibited from possessing any weapons, providing a DNA sample, and attending substance abuse counselling.
On June 16, 2015, Thunder Bay Police were called to the Totem Trailer Court on Chippewa Road after witnesses discovered Charlie-Stillaway unconscious and covered in blood on the ground outside.
Police arrested Pelletier not far from the residence and he was charged with aggravated assault. Charlie Stillaway was transported to hospital in critical condition and later died of her injuries. The charge against Pelletier was then upgraded to second-degree murder.
Throughout the hearing, the court learned of Pelletier’s childhood, which Fitzpatrick described as nothing short of traumatic when reading his sentence.
Pelletier spent much of his childhood in and out of foster care until the age of 16. His mother suffered from addiction issues and Pelletier and his siblings were placed in foster care because of ongoing neglect.
Between the ages of 16 and 20, Pelletier was steadily employed and he was in a relationship with Charlie-Stillaway since the age of 14.
At the age of 17, Pelletier moved in with Charlie-Stillaway and the two had one child together and lost another during childbirth.
According to the agreed statement of facts read out in court, Pelletier has no recollection of the trauma he faced during childhood and his attorney, Michael Hardagon, said he shows extreme stoicism and willingness to suppress childhood memories.
Pelletier was described as being unable to emotionally regulate himself or his aggression. He also struggled with alcohol and drug addiction and during the time of the assault against Charlie-Stillaway, he had been using cocaine every day and had been consuming alcohol for 30 hours prior and Pelletier said he had no memories of the assault.
Fitzpatrick said there was evidence that the crime was committed in a fit of rage and involved intoxication. And while all evidence in the case was circumstantial, Pelletier admitted to his role in Charlie-Stillaway’s death.
“The court is aware that there’s nothing it can do to bring Larissa back,” Fitzpatrick said when reading his sentence.
He went on to say that he hopes Pelletier will seek the treatment he requires while serving his time.
“Mr. Pelletier is still a young man,” Fitzpatrick said. “The decision to change is entirely up to him.”
