SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The father of a 21-year-old man beaten to death at a house party two summers ago says a guilty plea from his son's killer brings little relief to the victim's family and friends.

Emerson Curran, 21, died from blunt force trauma after he was punched repeatedly in the head at a house party two summers ago.

Michael Curran declined to comment but pointed to his statement Monday afternoon on his son Emerson's "memory of" Facebook page.

Roman Bourque, 24, remains free on bail after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the beating death of the much smaller Curran at a Frame Lake South residence on Aug. 24, 2013. Bourque entered the plea in NWT Supreme Court on Monday and was subsequently convicted by Justice Karan Shaner. He walked out of court with his mother.

Curran, an Ottawa man, was in Yellowknife working at Air Tindi as a dock hand for the summer.

In court, Crown prosecutor Marc Lecorre read aloud from a statement of facts agreed to by Bourque and his lawyer Peter Harte. Bourque and Curran had both attended a birthday party at a residence on Louttit Street.

Both had consumed alcohol and were intoxicated. Shortly after midnight words were exchanged between the two in the living room of the home. Bourque then punched Curran several times, knocking him unconscious and causing him to fall into a chair.

Other party-goers attempted to pull Bourque off the victim but Bourque pushed them away and continued to punch Curran.

As a result of those punches, Curran slid off the chair and hit the back of his head on a piano on his way to the floor. Bourque continued to punch Curran while he was unconscious on the ground, punching him between seven and 10 times.

Bourque then rapidly left the party with his girlfriend and other friends. Curran was taken to Stanton Territorial Hospital and then transferred to the Royal Alexandria Hospital in Edmonton where he died the next day. An autopsy was conducted on Curran's body on Aug. 28 by the Alberta Medical Examiner's Office where the cause of death was ruled to be bleeding at the base of the brain caused by blunt force trauma. It was ruled the injury was caused by Bourque punching Curran in the head and causing him to hit the back of his head and neck on the piano. It was noted that Bourque is 6'4" and weighs 250 pounds. Curran was 5'10" and weighed 163 pounds.

Bourque wore a grey dress shirt and dress pants to his plea hearing which lasted about a half an hour. Both he and his mother refused to comment outside the courtroom.

A pre-sentence report has been ordered for no later than May 22.

Harte requested that a forensic psychiatrist from Ontario be allowed to view the pre-sentence report and file his own report prior to sentencing. He also requested that Bourque now be allowed to contact four people, believed to have been at the party, who he was previously ordered not to have contact with. That request was granted by the judge. Lecorre said all of Bourque's other bail conditions still apply.

His bail conditions were loosened last August when he was allowed to leave the NWT provided he notified RCMP and court officials ahead of time. Lecorre said that the maximum sentence for manslaughter is life in prison and there is no minimum sentence.

He was not prepared to divulge the penalty he'll be asking for.

Bourque is scheduled to be back in court to set a date for sentencing on June 15.

In Michael Curran's Facebook post he went on to state that after 20 long months, "Bourque admitted what was 100 per cent clear to witnesses of the incident.

"Despite outweighing Emerson by 70 pounds, Roman Bourque beat Emerson even after he was unconscious, leaving him lifeless and without vital signs. We hope the justice system will hold Roman Bourque accountable for his actions. We continue to appreciate and thank the community for its support during this difficult time. And following Emerson's lead, we encourage people to consider the gift of life, organ donation."

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