A little less than three weeks after he was convicted of killing his estranged wife, a man from Wainwright, Alta., was sentenced by a judge to spend life in prison on Thursday.
Robert Dean Clifford was sentenced Thursday in connection with the stabbing death of Nichole McKeith in 2017. The judge accepted a joint submission from the Crown and Clifford’s defence team to have him become eligible to apply for parole after spending 16 years behind bars.
Clifford’s sentence also stipulates that he not be allowed to contact the two children he had with McKeith.
When Clifford was found guilty last month of second-degree murder in McKeith’s death, the judge told the court that “the killing itself was brutal, angry and personal.”
READ MORE: Judge finds Wainwright man guilty of murdering estranged wife at retrial
McKeith’s body was found in her home in Wainwright on the morning of Feb. 24, 2017. She was alone in the house. RCMP had been called to the home to perform a welfare check. She was 31 at the time.
An officer at the scene found McKeith’s bloodied and bruised body at the foot of the stairs. She had been stabbed in the chest 17 times with a double-edged weapon.
Clifford was arrested by police eight months after McKeith’s death.
Previous testimony at the trial explained that there were complaints regarding previous alleged incidents of domestic violence in the relationship. At one time, McKeith had called police, reporting to them that Clifford had broken in and she found him hiding under her bed.
Over the course of the retrial, it was revealed that Clifford’s DNA had been found on one of McKeith’s fingernail clippings and also on a bloodied belt discovered next to her body.
The judge said he did not find the version of events provided by Clifford and his defence team to be plausible given the DNA evidence. The defence had argued someone else must have killed McKeith.
Clifford was convicted of murder at the conclusion of last month’s retrial, which was scheduled after a judge declared a mistrial in the case in 2021.
During sentencing on Thursday, Justice Nicholas Devlin spoke about the devastating impact of domestic violence and described what Clifford did to McKeith as “a savage, rage-fuelled act of violence.”
“The fatal encounter must have been terrifying to her,” Devlin added. “Regrettably, women in particular continue to be killed by those who should most closely protect them – their intimate partners – in tragic numbers.
“This is unacceptable and a shame on our society.”
Devlin added that he believes Clifford has “shown no meaningful remorse.”
A total of 19 victim impact statements were submitted, including from Clifford and McKeith’s two children. One of the children asked his father why he would “do that to… (his) wife” and called on him to say he is sorry. Clifford’s son also said he will “feel safer” knowing his father is in prison and “can’t get out.” The boy’s sister said she feels “unsafe all the time.”
Delilah McKeith, the victim’s mother, told the court how she and her husband have legally adopted their grandchildren and moved away so they would feel safe while Clifford was out on bail.
“This has been a very hard six years for me and it will be for the rest of my life,” she said. “There is no greater pain than the pain you feel when you’ve lost a child.
“There are no words to describe that pain… My life has been destroyed, the lives of the small children have been destroyed. That day, two little kids became orphans.”
–With files from Sarah Ryan, Global News