Killer to be sentenced in September for shooting that lawyers say had unclear motive

The mother of a man shot and killed two years ago in southeast New Brunswick on Tuesday told a judge in Moncton that her life will never be the same.

"My only child that I had — I called him every night," Doris Leard, her voice breaking, said of her son Jamie Leard. "I told him I loved him every night. Now I can't do that."

No grandchildren, and no more birthday and holiday celebrations, she said.

She was reading her victim impact statement during the sentencing hearing for Sean Patrick Patterson, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder of Leard in his Upper Cape home on May 25, 2021.

The 30-year-old Patterson and a co-accused, Henry Alexander Joseph Pottie, were scheduled to stand trial on a charge of first-degree murder earlier this year.

Days before the trial began, Patterson pleaded guilty to the lesser charge. Pottie pleaded guilty to manslaughter after the jury trial had started and will be sentenced Sept. 15.

On Tuesday, Crown prosecutor Maurice Blanchard outlined the facts Patterson was admitting to Court of King's Bench Chief Justice Tracey DeWare. He said Patterson was among five people at Leard's home on May 25, 2021.

Leard left to drive Amanda Noiles and her young son back to Springhill, N.S., but turned around after getting a phone notification that his surveillance system had been turned off. Blanchard said Patterson shut off the power "to prevent the cameras from capturing the upcoming events."

He said Patterson told police he believed there were other cameras hidden in the house because Leard thought Patterson was stealing from him. Patterson had concocted a plan to confront Leard about it with a gun he would shoot near his head.

Leard walked back into the house, said "What the f--k are you guys doing," and was shot in the head. Patterson and Pottie cleaned the scene and hid Leard's body. Later, his remains were burned.

Blanchard said there were no hidden cameras found by police. He said the actual motive for the 38-year-old's murder was unclear.

"It's a bit hard to fathom why this happened," Blanchard said, adding the driving force appeared to be drug addiction. 

It's a statement Patterson's lawyers echoed. 

Leard's mother reported him missing May 28, 2021. Those present when he was shot initially lied or misled police about what happened, Blanchard said. Leard's remains were found in early June and Patterson and Pottie were charged.