GRAPHIC WARNING: Some of the details in this article are graphic and may be disturbing to some.
A jury convicted Gilbert Robinson of second-degree murder but the Crown prosecutor is asking for a sentence nearly as long as what a first-degree murder conviction would bring.
Crown prosecutor, Domina Hussain, told the sentencing hearing that given the circumstances of the killing, the lengthy sentence is appropriate.
“The brutality of this murder was extreme,” Hussain said.
READ MORE: Gilbert Robinson found guilty of killing estranged wife
In April 2014, Robinson, 62, killed his ex-wife Gina Robinson.
The two had separated and it was not amicable. Gina went to Gilbert’s home to discuss the divorce and to pick up some items.
When Gina’s friend went to the house to check on her, she found Gina at the foot of the basement stairs, struggling to breathe and covered in blood. Gilbert said Gina was leaving and must have fallen down the stairs.
READ MORE: Crown says Edmonton woman severely beaten with 2×4: ‘This was not an accident. This was murder’
Expert witnesses testified Gina did not suffer her injuries from a fall. Every bone in her face was broken. The Crown says Gilbert covered Gina’s face with a jacket and then beat her with a two-by-four.
“This was a focused beating and, I respectfully submit, unrelenting,” Hussain said. “When I say that her brain was split in half, I don’t mean it figuratively.”
Hussain said in addition to the severity of the assault, Gilbert Robinson tried to cover up the crime. The two-by-four was found in the garage. Hussain also argued a blood-stained cleaning bottle suggests Robinson tried cleaning up the blood while Gina lay at the bottom of the stairs struggling to breathe.
Gina’s friends and family filled the courtroom for the sentencing hearing. Several wept as the Crown described some of Gina’s injuries.
Gilbert Robinson sat in the prisoner’s box and also began to cry when the judge pointed out that a 21-year parole ineligibility period would mean Robinson would almost certainly die in prison. He couldn’t apply for release until he was 83.
Gina’s friends and family, many of whom were preparing to read victim impact statements, did not sympathize with Gilbert.
“I don’t think you are able to publish what my thoughts are on Mr. Robinson,” said Gina’s friend, Lori McConnell, after court.
Inside the courtroom, McConnell read a victim impact statement on behalf of Gina’s ladies group friends.
“Not a day goes by that we don’t question how this could’ve happened to our friend, Gina. The time we spent at her bedside as she struggled for her life will haunt us forever.”
Another friend, Claudette Krentz, described four years of stress, anxiety and depression that followed the murder.
Krentz is a nurse and went to the Robinson home the night of the murder and the memories still haunt her.
“I felt like I had failed Gina in her greatest moment of need. There was nothing else I could do,” Krentz said.
READ MORE: Witnesses in Edmonton murder trial describe Gina Robinson’s injuries: ‘They were catastrophic’
The friends and family say they’re at court to support Gina but also other victims of domestic violence.
The defence will present its sentencing arguments on Thursday and the judge will make a decision after that. The minimum sentence for second-degree murder is life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years.
Thursday also would have been Gina’s birthday. Her friends say it’s fitting that the end to this ordeal might fall on that day.
“I’m fairly confident there may be a toast or a few to move forward,” McConnell said.