A justice officially sentenced 34-year-old Justin Dumpfrey, guilty of the 2018 murder of Holly Hamilton, to life in prison during a court session on Friday.
The sentencing was a formality since the second-degree murder verdict a jury found him guilty of in December came with the automatic sentence.
All that was left to be determined was the possibility of parole for Dumpfrey from Superior Court Justice Paul Sweeny.
The criminal code sets a fixed period between a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 25 years.
Sweeny, who referred to the murder as “brutal and vile,” opted for 18 years before a parole application can be made, citing “aggravating factors” which included the clean-up, removal and the hiding of Hamilton’s body.
“These are particularly egregious acts which warrant strong denunciation and deterrence,” Sweeny told the courtroom.
“The aggravating factors, combined with no mitigating factors, justifies a departure from the range of 12 to 17 years set by the Court of Appeal.”
Dumpfrey will also be required to provide a DNA sample for the record and was also given a lifetime ban from carrying prohibited weapons. He is banned from communicating with any members of Hamilton’s family, including Holly’s mom Angela.
Hamilton, 29, was found in the trunk of her car with stab wounds on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018, according to court documents.
She had been reported missing just two days before the discovery.
Dumpfrey, Hamilton’s former boyfriend, was charged with murder in her death.
The defendant told the jury he acted in self-defence, but the Crown argued it was an act of domestic violence.
During the trial, jurors heard the Crown reveal Hamilton had suffered “17 sharp force injuries” in addition to abrasions and bruises from blunt force trauma.
The prosecution said that the murder was committed with Hamilton’s young child in the apartment and that Dumpfrey took “significant steps” to cover up his crime: disposing of the weapon, cleaning the scene, and driving the vehicle with the body to a place where it would not be located for some time.
Dumpfrey would admit to stabbing Holly after she brought their daughter over to his apartment.
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On the stand, he insisted he killed her after Hamilton allegedly brought a strange man into his apartment, who pulled a knife.
After gaining control of the knife he said Holly jumped on his back and attempted to choke him.
Ten jurors would ultimately find the story far-fetched and reach a guilty verdict in late December.
The decision came in a second trial following a mistrial in January 2020.
In a Facebook post last December, Hamilton’s mother thanked the city of Hamilton and everyone that supported the family through the trial.
“Hollydolly my angel thank you, you can now rest, you got your job done, rest easy my girl,” the post read.
The life sentence for Dumpfrey begins in accordance with the date of his arrest on Jan. 7, 2018.
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