One of the two people charged in the 2020 death of Jason Douglas Murphy has been sentenced to seven years in prison for manslaughter in Nova Scotia.
Murphy, 45, died on Feb. 25, 2020, after he was unintentionally struck by a car driven by common-law partners Dana Matthew Wolfe and Kelly Stewart.
The incident left Murphy’s family heartbroken.
“My life without my eldest son has made my life feel empty and traumatized,” his father Michael Murphy said in the victim impact statements in the court documents released this week.
The same day Jason Murphy died, Wolfe and Stewart were arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
Saltwire previously reported that Stewart’s sentence was dropped and she was instead charged with obstruction of justice. In 2021, she pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 86 days in jail, which was considered served by her remand time, and two years’ probation, according to Saltwire.
Wolfe’s charge was lowered to second-degree murder, to which he pleaded not guilty in May of 2022. He instead pleaded guilty to the offence of manslaughter which was accepted by the Crown, according to court documents. He was sentenced on Wednesday.
Jason Murphy had been a longtime friend of Wolfe and Stewart and was renting a room out to them in the area of Head of Jeddore in Halifax County.
Court documents say the morning of Feb. 25, 2020, Wolfe and Stewart had an argument about rent, and Murphy left the house. Wolfe was intoxicated from the night before and got in his car with Stewart to go convince Murphy to get in the car and go back to their home.
Once they caught up with Murphy, “angry words were exchanged” and Murphy told the couple he was kicking them out.
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“Enraged by these comments, Wolfe quickly accelerated the car and made a sharp turn towards Murphy intending to ‘psych’ him out but not hit him,” the court heard in the hearings held on Aug. 22 and Aug. 24, according to the sentencing report from Justice John Bodurtha.
“However, due in part to the icy road conditions, the sudden anger experienced by Wolfe, and his intoxication, the car instead struck Murphy, resulting in his death.”
According to the agreed statement of facts by the court, it was confirmed that Wolfe had applied the brakes when he struck Murphy, but the car continued to move forward and slid into a guardrail, pinning Murphy. “He died from his internal injuries at that time or within a few minutes afterward,” documents said.
Though Wolfe did not intend to kill Murphy, his actions amounted to an unlawful act resulting in the death.
“It is the worst thing that could ever happen and I wish it never happened. I have to live with it,” Wolfe told the court at one of the hearings. Justice Bodurtha noted this as an expression of remorse in his sentencing report.
Wolfe had also admitted to being an alcoholic and to having a temper, the judge noted, adding he hopes Wolfe would participate in substance abuse programming at a federal institution.
Documents say at his sentencing hearing, which began Monday, Wolfe stated:
“Nothing I can do or say will bring Jason back. I can’t even begin to understand what I put his family through (and) their loss. I’m ashamed of my actions. I just wish that they can find it in their hearts to forgive me. … I just hope all the best for them. I’m so sorry.”
Jason’s father said in his victim impact statement that he has forgiven the accused, though he’ll never forget.
“I have lost contact with friends, family and new relationships due to the fact I am afraid of emotional breakdown,” Michael Murphy told the court.
“I can’t explain all the true feelings I have, only another person that has gone through this will understand this feeling of loss, loneliness and emptiness.
“All I want is justice, not revenge.”
After back-and-forth negotiations, Crown attorneys Eric Taylor and Janine Kidd and Wolfe’s lawyer Malcolm Jeffcock agreed on a seven-year sentence recommendation.
Justice Bodurtha said in his report that Wolfe’s prior record — several convictions for offences involving violence, driving and substance abuse — was also considered, though “not an aggravating factor.”
The judge agreed on the seven-year prison sentence on Wednesday, removing 909 days that have already been served from Feb. 27, 2020 to Aug. 23, 2022 and additional credit. Wolfe has another 1,091 days left to serve in custody.
Bodurtha also granted an order for mandatory DNA and a lifetime prohibition for firearms order for Wolfe. The convicted man is also not allowed to communicate with the family of the victim during his sentence.
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