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A London man who stabbed his disabled mother to death inside her home won’t be able to apply for parole for 13 years.
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Jonathan Halfyard, 39, pleaded guilty in September to second-degree murder – a conviction that carries an automatic life sentence – for killing Carolyn Carter, 69, after she kicked him out of her northwest London house on April 20, 2023.
Superior Court Justice Michael Carnegie accepted a joint submission Monday from the defence and the Crown to set Halfyard’s parole eligibility at 13 years.
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“This was a brutal attack upon a vulnerable and defenseless victim,” Carnegie said of Carter, a retired teacher who suffered a debilitating stroke eight months before her death.
Halfyard had a troubled childhood, a long history of alcohol and substance abuse, mental-health issues and prior incidents of assaulting his mother, according to a pre-sentence report Carnegie cited during his sentencing decision.
Halfyard reported not having slept for nine days and being high on multiple drugs – crystal methamphetamine, bath salts and cocaine – on the day he stabbed his mother, saying “voices” told him to kill her, court heard.
Earlier that day, police were called to Carter’s house at 856 Redoak Ave. to ask Halfyard to leave. But he returned while his mother was out and attacked her with a serrated knife when she came home, stabbing her multiple times, including a mortal wound to her neck, according to an agreed statement of facts previously read into the record.
Growing up in Corner Brook, N.L., Carter had her first child at the age of 19 and faced “faced many challenges and obstacles” in her life, her obituary said.
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A single mother to two daughters and a son, Carter earned two master’s degrees and was an elementary school in the London region for 25 years, the obituary said.
No family members submitted victim impact statements, but several relatives watched the sentencing hearing via teleconference.
“Naturally, the consequences of this tragedy has had a devastating impact on the entire family,” Carnegie said.
Halfyard, who had a beard and long hair pulled back in a ponytail, declined to address the court.
“I don’t have anything to say,” he said.
Carnegie thanked the Crown and defence for working on the joint submission.
“Fostering this resolution has benefitted this offender and the community at large,” he said.
dcarruthers@postmedia.com
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