The second of two men accused of killing a Calgary father has made a last-minute plea deal.
Kristopher Goerzen appeared in court Monday and pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree murder in the death of Nick Lush.
Goerzen was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 16 years.
The victim’s wife, Denise Lush, expressed mixed feelings about the fact the case will no longer go to trial.
“I wish it would’ve gone to trial because there’s so much information that we will never know,” she said. “In a way, I’m glad that it’s done because we don’t have to relive appeal after appeal.
“There are no words to describe how I feel. I feel sad and lost.”
Goerzen and Cody Bauer were both scheduled to stand trial for first-degree murder in May 2017.
Watch below from April 2015: The family of Nick Lush finally has closure after his body was discovered Wednesday. Over the weekend, two men were charged with first-degree murder. Global’s Jayme Doll reports.
Bauer pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Jan. 6, 2017.
Denise said her husband had to be identified by dental records because of the way his body was left.
“What kind of human being does that to somebody?” she said. “He was so damaged that we could not see him.
“What they did was evil.”
Lush, a father of three, disappeared in March 2015 after leaving a house party in the Springbank area.
Court previously heard Lush was arguing with the two men at the party, telling them they would be dead by the end of the day. Bauer and Lush then got into a fistfight outside a vehicle.
Bauer punched Lush in the head and Lush reacted by swinging a knife at his face, court heard. Lush was then hit over the head and knocked to the ground with a baseball bat.
Lush was repeatedly kicked, then thrown into the trunk of the car, before being driven to an underpass at Hermitage Road and the TransCanada Highway, about 25 kilometres west of Calgary.
Court heard he was then taken from the trunk and beaten again with the bat.
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Lush was taken to a gravel road east of Longview, stripped of his clothing and covered by branches.
The two men knew he was still breathing, but badly injured, court heard.
His body was discovered eight days later near Longview, southwest of Calgary.
Lush’s son, Noah, spoke outside court Monday.
“I really wish I could’ve said goodbye to my dad,” the 13-year-old said. “It really sucks knowing that he was sitting out there alone and cold. How could someone do that to somebody? It’s sad.”
With files from Nancy Hixt
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