The devastated wife of a Calgary father who was murdered in the spring of 2015 told court Friday her heart is forever broken.
“There is no healing,” Denise Lush said during a sentencing hearing. “Why? Because every time I look at my beautiful children I am reminded of what was taken away from us.”
Nick Lush, a father of three, disappeared in March 2015 after leaving a house party in the Springbank area. His remains were found days later near Longview, southwest of Calgary.
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.
One of two men accused of killing Lush made a last-minute plea deal last week.
In a move that shocked the Lush family, Cody Bauer appeared in court Jan. 6 and pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree murder.
Bauer and Kristopher Goerzen were both scheduled to stand trial for first-degree murder in May 2017.
READ MORE: 2017 trial date set for accused in murder of Calgary father Nick Lush
“Imagine your seven-year-old child telling Santa she would give up all her gifts just to have her daddy come home,” Denise said Friday. “The girls lost their hero, their protector.”
A victim impact statement was also read on behalf of the Lushes 13-year-old son, Noah.
“Having my dad murdered by someone we knew, someone we thought was my dad’s friend, has been really hard for me to understand,” it said. “My dad will never be able to show me how to shave, my dad will not be able to watch me graduate, get married or meet any grandchildren my sisters and me might have one day.
“What happened to my dad has changed and broken our family forever.”
Court hears circumstances around Nick Lush’s disappearance
Court heard Bauer and another man brutally assaulted Lush after an argument at a Springbank party.
The trio were arguing at the party on March 29, 2015 and were asked to leave as a result.
Court heard Lush told the two men they would be dead by the end of the day and Bauer and Lush then got into a fistfight outside the 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.
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Court heard he was then taken from the trunk and beaten again with the bat.
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.
READ MORE: RCMP recover human remains, identify as Nick Lush
Bauer confessed to his role in the crime.
Court heard Friday both the Crown and defence are recommending Bauer receive a life sentence without parole for 15 years.
With files from Global’s Nancy Hixt
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