A Winnipeg judge has sentenced Nicholas Bell-Wright to life in prison with no chance of parole for 16 years.
As Justice Glenn Joyal read the decision, he called the killing of 17-year-old Cooper Nemeth “brutal and callous.”
Before Joyal read his decision Bell-Wright apologized.
“I know what happened wasn’t right,” he said. “I had no right to take (his life) way from him. I just hope one day I can be forgiven for what has happened. I’m sorry.”
Joyal said Bell-Wright hid Nemeth’s body and allowing the week long search was cruel and gave the family false hope.
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The decision followed an emotional day in court where 16 of 96 victim impact statements were read.
READ: “The future is gone”: Cooper Nemeth’s mom reads victim impact statement in court
Bell-Wright pleaded guilty to second-degree murder murder last fall.
Nemeth, 17, was killed February, 2016.
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He was shot in the head twice while sitting in the front seat of Bell-Wright’s car.
READ: Winnipeg man pleads guilty in murder of Cooper Nemeth
An agreed statement of facts read into court in November detailed how the two had just recently met.
“The deceased had become involved with selling Xanax pills. He and the accused were recent acquaintances who knew each other through the illegal drug trade,” Crown attorney Mike Himmelman said.
Nemeth was last seen alive in Winnipeg on the evening of Feb. 13, 2016 at a house on Amelia Crescent.
He was picked up by Bell-Wright in his 1997 Cadillac and the two were seen driving together with Nemeth riding in the front seat.
“A violent encounter subsequently occurred between the parties. The deceased suffered blunt trauma from the altercation including bruising and abrasions,” Himmelman said in court in November.
Still in the car, Bell-Wright then took a .22 calibre semi-automatic gun and shot Nemeth twice in the head.
He then disposed of the the 17-year-old’s body and drove to his home on Treger Bay to try and get rid of any evidence. Nemeth’s body was found one week later.
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