WINNIPEG – Russell McDiarmid has been sentenced to life in prison for a murder that shook the town of Fisher Branch, Man.
McDiarmid, 53, pleaded guilty Monday to killing Nancy Swenty, 33, in Fisher Branch on July 27, 2011. The judge gave him no chance of parole for 10 years, the minimum for second-degree murder.
McDiarmid, whose ex-girlfriend was a friend of Swenty, went to her house July 27, got in an argument with her and strangled her, court was told.
He put her body in her truck, drove to a hunting shack and broke into it, found a tarp and wrapped her in it before tossing her body in a ditch.
The motive for the murder is still unclear.
Swenty was reported missing after she didn’t show up to work the next day.
For a month, family, friends and volunteers searched for her.
She was found on Aug. 28, 2011, her body badly decomposed.
McDiarmid was seen by friends with a bite mark on his chest and scratches on his face, court was told.
McDiarmid was questioned by police after Swenty disappeared but subsequently left the province. A warrant for his arrest was issued after her body was found and police caught him in Canmore, Alta., on Sept. 15, 2011.
McDiarmid declined to speak in court.
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