Nick Fontanelli has been sentenced to life in prison without a chance of parole for 17 years in connection with the 2015 death of his fiancée Samantha Higgins.
The sentence was handed down Tuesday afternoon in Quebec Superior Court in Montreal. Fontanelli will also sentenced to three years for interfering with the remains of a deceased person, but the two sentences will be served concurrently.
The 22-year-old mother of two was last seen walking home from a friend’s house in LaSalle on July 7, 2015. Farmers found her dismembered body three days later in a bag under a bridge in Hinchinbrooke, roughly 75 kilometres southwest of Montreal.
After years of court delays, Fontanelli, now 27, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Oct. 8.
READ MORE: Fiancé charged with first-degree murder of Samantha Higgins
Both the prosecution and the defence recommended a sentence of 17 years before the chance of parole.
Crown prosecutor Louis Bouthillier said in his remarks that among the aggravating factors were the brutal nature of the murder — dismemberment and mutilation — and the fact that Fontanelli tried to hide what he did.
Marc Labelle, the lawyer representing Fontanelli, argued that his client pleaded guilty — even if it took four years. He also said the crime wasn’t planned.
“It’s a spur-of-the-moment thing,” Labelle told reporters. “That’s the only explanation we have from the evidence.”
‘You were our sunshine’
More than a dozen members of Higgins’ family and friends attended the sentencing hearing Tuesday. Nine family members read victim impact statements in court Tuesday morning, including her mother, Vanessa Higgins. In her statement, she told the court she has suffered post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression.
“Today should not be happening,” she said, fighting back tears. “Life used to be so beautiful. Now, some days, I can’t even leave the house.”
READ MORE: Nick Fontanelli trial delayed, his lawyer contesting 1st-degree murder charge
James Higgins, Samantha’s grandfather, was the first to address the court. He showed a picture of his granddaughter taken two weeks before her murder.
“You were our sunshine, our only sunshine,” he said reading from a posthumous letter to Samantha. “You’ll never know how much we miss you because someone took our sunshine away.”
In an unprepared statement, Fontanelli also addressed the court while glancing at the Higgins family.
“I’m very sorry,” he said. “I have deep remorse. I wish it never happened.”
— With files from Global News’ Kalina Laframboise
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