Rankin Inlet (Jan 15/07) - A 32-year-old Rankin Inlet man has been sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of second-degree murder in the death of his common-law spouse on April 23, 2004, in Rankin.

Adrian VanEindhoven was convicted and sentenced by Justice Robert Kilpatrick in Rankin Inlet last week after a lengthy trial.

Leanee Irkootee, 23, was pronounced dead at the Rankin Inlet health centre as a result of a single stab wound from a steak knife that penetrated her heart.

Kilpatrick rejected the convicted's claim that the stab wound was the result of a self-inflicted accident.

Irkootee also suffered multiple blunt trauma, including bruising to the face, forehead, nose, jaw, inside of her lips and gums, both arms, knees, shins and her back. She also had bite marks on her back and neck.

In his ruling, Kilpatrick wrote that the act of stabbing Irkootee was both a continuation and a culmination of the brutal pattern of violence that preceded it.

"The loss of impulse control and the recklessness that underlies the deliberate infliction of the many blunt-trauma injuries is entirely consistent with resort to a knife in circumstances of extreme rage," wrote Kilpatrick.

"This was murder."

VanEindhoven was given credit for his time served and will be eligible to apply for parole, set at 12 years, in about nine years.

He is expected to serve his sentence in an Ontario prison.