3 people sentenced to several years each in 'horrifying' killing of Hamilton man Tommy Hoang
CBC
WARNING: This story contains distressing details and descriptions of violence.
The four people involved in the 2021 murder of a Hamilton man have all been sentenced to jail.
On Thursday, Superior Court Justice Paul Sweeny sentenced Daniel Holland, Madeleine Peternel and Robyn Cove to seven years, five-and-a-half years, and five years and three months, respectively, for their roles in the confinement, beating and death of Simon "Tommy" Hoang.
Holland, Peternel and Cove previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Police escorted them from the courtroom as the judge sentenced them one by one for the "stark and horrifying" attack.
On May 1, the other attacker, Jason Long, received a life sentence with a parole ineligibility for 16 years in Hoang's death. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
The trio sentenced Thursday are all in their late 30s and early 40s. Peternel shrugged and shook her head after Sweeny sentenced her. Holland did not visibly react, nor did Cove.
Peternel had been released on bail prior to the sentencing. The other two had been jailed.
Reading from an agreed statement of facts, Sweeny told the court the offenders knew each other. On the evening of Feb. 10, 2021, he said, Long planned to rob Hoang. Peternel, who had a relationship with the victim, lured the 30-year-old to her apartment near Main Street East and Sherman Ave South in Hamilton's St. Clair neighbourhood, knowing he would be robbed.
Working together, Long, Peternel, Holland and Cove confined Hoang, Sweeny said. Long beat Hoang for over 20 minutes and Holland admitted to hitting him with a pipe, which Sweeny said contributed to his death.
A neighbour reported hearing someone telling another person to stop what they were doing, or that they would "kill him." Another voice responded that they were going to do just that.
A neighbour called police and when police arrived at the building, they found Hoang with multiple injuries including stab wounds to his neck that were about nine- and 14-centimetres deep, Sweeny said. Hoang passed out in an ambulance en route to hospital and never woke up. He died when doctors took him off life support on Feb. 27, 2021.
In the apartment where the group attacked Hoang, police found numerous bloodstained weapons including brass knuckles and a potato peeler, the court heard.
When Long was seen exiting the building, he left a trail of bloody footprints in the snow, and dropped a blood-soaked pipe, Sweeny said. He was carrying Hoang's coat and moved Hoang's car away.
Long later posted a photo on social media wearing a piece of Hoang's jewelry and holding a large amount of cash.
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