Ontario man apologizes for murdering, decapitating his mother

Warning: This story contains disturbing details.

Standing in the prisoner’s box nine days after a jury found Dallas Ly guilty of the second-degree murder of his mother, 46-year-old Tien Ly, the convicted killer apologized and thanked those friends who had stood by him over the past two years.

“I never found the opportunity to say sorry during my testimony,” Dallas said in a soft-spoken voice. “I want to apologize for the thing that I’ve done. I know I’m not the type of person to lose control. I understand it was out of character for me. I take responsibility for my weaknesses.”

Before Justice Brian O’Marra recessed court, reserving his decision on a period of parole ineligibility, Dallas’s lawyer Jessyca Greenwood asked the judge if her client could have a moment to speak with his aunt, grandmother and friends now that the no-communication order was ending.

“There is hope they can support him,” Greenwood said.

The judge agreed to the request before Dallas turned and looked towards the body of the court. As his aunt and grandmother began speaking in Vietnamese, his eyes began to swell with tears before he calmly replied in Vietnamese. He then turned and spoke to a friend in English who had testified for the Crown at trial and thanked him for his continued support.

“Thank you for helping me out a lot. I don’t know who else I would have had,” Dallas could be heard saying to his friend.

A victim impact statement was read out by the Crown prosecutor on behalf of Huyen Ly, Tien’s sister.

“This statement is between me, my sister and Dallas. Dallas has killed his mother and it has made me really sad. Because Dallas is my nephew and he is still young, I want to stand here before the court and ask for a sentence that is appropriate for a person this young. I feel very sad for what Dallas has done,” Huyen wrote.

On March 27, 2022, Dallas repeatedly stabbed his mother in the Carlaw Avenue apartment they shared after Tien, a nail salon owner, returned from work. At trial, Dallas testified he told his mother he was moving out and was going to live with his aunt. When his mother became enraged and began screaming at him, threatening to kill him and his aunt before hitting him, Dallas said he reacted by getting a knife and swinging it at her. Testifying he had suffered years of physical and mental abuse at the hands of his mother, he believed she was actually going to carry out her threats.

2:47 Jury finds Dallas Ly guilty of 2nd-degree murder

After striking her with the knife in her neck and realizing he had killed her, at first he couldn’t believe what he had done and later panicked, decapitated her and disposed of her remains. A forensic psychiatrist for the defence who assessed Dallas testified he was suffering from PTSD at the time, from the ongoing abuse, and was defending himself from what he thought were real threats. But the Crown argued he had the intent to kill his mother as a form of revenge.

The jury convicted Dallas of second-degree murder after just a day of deliberations, rejecting the defence argument that he was provoked.

A second-degree murder conviction is an automatic life sentence but the judge must decide on a period of parole ineligibility between 10 and 25 years.

Crown attorney Jay Spare argued that 15 years would be appropriate given the victim was Dallas’s mother who was brutally killed in her own home by multiple stab wounds. She was then decapitated and her remains were taken and dumped by the road before Dallas went back to the condo and located her cash and took that.

Only 21 at the time, Spare acknowledged that Dallas has no prior criminal record and had some mental health issues at the time though there’s a dispute about whether or not he had PTSD at the time.

Spare also said there is a broader community impact to the case.

“The location of the decapitated woman’s remains leaves people feeling uneasy in their neighbourhood. It’s a frightening thing to have happened,” he said.

Greenwood argued a more appropriate period of parole ineligibility would be between 10 and 12 years.

“It was an uncontroverted fact that he has been subjected to abuse by his mother. He is taking medication now and is being treated now but it wasn’t part of his life at the time,” Greenwood told the court.

She argued that while it’s true he admitted to taking cash from his mother when he left the apartment, the cash was not spent.

Greenwood urged O’Marra to consider Dallas’s character.

“A young person with a Grade 11 education who had some fairly substantial issues in childhood,” she said, referring to his untreated mental illness as well as being somewhat alienated from family supports like his grandmother and his aunt whom he could not confide in regarding what was going on at home.

The defence said Dallas also mourned the death of his father after his mother told him he had died, only to learn through the criminal process that his father was still alive.

Greenwood said Dallas has prospects of rehabilitation.

“At some point, he will apply for parole. Not so harsh that it crushes all hope of rehabilitation while he’s in custody serving a life sentence.”

O’Marra will deliver his sentence on the question of parole ineligibility next month.