A person who brandished a hatchet and sunk it into the chest of a man during a drug deal gone wrong was sentenced Friday to nine years in prison.
In May, Daniel Forest pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the January 2017 death of 45-year-old Rodney Wailing.
Court heard how Wailing was defending another person at a Riversdale home when Forest pulled out a hatchet and struck Wailing, hitting a major artery in his heart.
Emergency crews found Wailing after receiving a call just before midnight, reporting a man injured in a home in the 200-block of Avenue I south. Wailing died of his injuries in hospital.
During sentencing, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Grant Currie said Forest endured a “horrific childhood,” which served as a mitigating circumstance in sentencing.
“While he was a child, at times he was grossly neglected. At times, he was appallingly abused,” Currie said.
With credit for time served on remand, Forest has roughly six years and five months remaining on his sentence.
The Crown sought a 10-year sentence, while the defence argued for two years less a day plus three years of probation.
Outside court, Forest’s lawyer Brian Pfefferle said the defence will consider an appeal in the next couple weeks.
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