Fort Liard man's horrific assault of elder led to her death
Derek Neary
Northern News Services
Fort Simpson (Mar 02/01) - A Fort Liard man has been sentenced to four years in a penitentiary for the manslaughter of an 87-year-old elder.
Justice Virginia Schuler imposed the sentence Thursday morning after a Supreme court jury had found Robby Mark Berreault, 23, guilty of the charge on Wednesday afternoon. Following a week-long trial in Fort Simpson, the jury arrived at the verdict after three hours of deliberation. Testimony from a witness and the victim's blood stains on Berreault's clothing were key elements of Crown prosecutor Debra Robinson's case.
Berreault had originally been charged with aggravated assault against the elder. The court heard that the brutal May 16, 1999, beating he inflicted upon the 87-year-old woman left her partially paralysed. Attacked at a camp site near Fort Liard in the early hours of the morning, she suffered severe head injuries and internal bleeding to her brain.
Berreault was set to stand trial on the charge of aggravated assault in April, 2000, but the victim's condition deteriorated and she passed away a week before the matter came before the courts.
After a coroner determined the victim's injuries contributed to her death, the Crown upgraded the charge to manslaughter.
It was actually the second time Berreault, who stands over six feet tall and weighs more than 200 pounds, had assaulted the elder. On March 16, 1999 he had also beaten her. He had not been remanded in custody following that incident and then assaulted her the second time prior to his July trial for the first assault, for which he was sentenced to five months.
Berreault was said to have been intoxicated prior to the second assault and his lawyer, Stephen Shabala, said Berreault admits to having a problem with alcohol.
His motivation for the assaults was not explained during the trial.
"It's virtually impossible to think of a reason why... (he) would attack an 87-year-old woman," Schuler said prior to sentencing. "She was in a position of extreme vulnerability."
Berreault expressed no emotion while Schuler imposed the sentence. He had declined to say anything on his own behalf on Wednesday after Schuler heard sentencing recommendations from counsel.
Shabala told Schuler his client was concerned that time in a penitentiary could turn him into a "bad person."
"He has a fear of being negatively influenced by other inmates in a penitentiary," he said.
Schuler acknowledged that concern, but told Berreault he could use the time to upgrade his Grade 9 education and seek counselling.
She credited Berreault with two years for the time he has served in custody prior to the manslaughter trial. She also imposed a firearms prohibition, in effect for 10 years after he's released from prison.
Manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
