BRANDON — A 24-year-old Ninette man who pleaded guilty to manslaughter last year after killing his 61-year-old mother in 2021 will spend just over four years behind bars, a King’s Bench courtroom heard.
Judge Elliot Leven gave his written decision on the fate of Nicholas Mass on Friday afternoon. Leven took time to decide on the sentence after first hearing sentencing submissions in November 2023. Leven sentenced Mass to a nine-year prison sentence with credit for time served — just under five years — meaning Mass will spend just over four more years behind bars.
The Crown and defence were far apart in their recommended sentence, with the Crown asking for 14 years behind bars and defence asking for four to six years.
Catherine Mass’s body was found by Killarney RCMP wrapped in a tarp in the basement of her Ninette home on March 12, 2021. During the judge-alone trial, evidence was presented through the testimonies of seven witnesses, including a pathologist who testified that Catherine died by strangulation, and an RCMP officer who testified that at the scene he found disposable gloves and disposable used wipes, which were stained red, in the kitchen garbage.
The court also heard audio recordings from Catherine’s phone of argumentative exchanges between her and Nicholas.
Ultimately, the Crown accepted a guilty plea of manslaughter as there was not sufficient evidence to prove intent for the second-degree murder charge. In Canada, second-degree murder requires the Crown to prove intent to kill or cause death, whereas manslaughter is a slaying that lacks the intent to commit murder.
At the sentencing submissions, Crown attorney Rich Lonstrup told the court that Catherine had given her son a place to stay in her house during the pandemic. However, the relationship between the two was contentious and Catherine made unsuccessful attempts to receive a protection order against her son.
Defence lawyer Saul Simmonds’ submissions focused on his Nicholas’s lack of history of physical violence against his mother before her death, his significant mental health issues and his use of hallucinogenic drugs that impacted his perception of reality.
Leven’s decision cited case law presented by both lawyers that he concluded show an appropriate sentence for Mass would be less than 11 years.
“The offence was a brutal one. The fact that the offender attempted to hide the corpse is aggravating, or at least points in the direction of a harsher (rather than more lenient) sentence,” the judge wrote.
Leven called Mass a “youthful” offender, as he was 21 at the time of the killing, had no prior criminal record, expressed remorse during sentencing submissions, and pleaded guilty partway through the trial last fall.
Ultimately, the judge decided to impose a nine-year sentence and a lifetime firearms prohibition.
Federal prisoners in Canada are eligible for parole after serving one-third of their sentence.
— Brandon Sun