Shawn Cote admitted Friday that he killed and dismembered an Elliot Lake man who had taken him into his home.
The 36-year-old pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the death of James (Jimmy) Lee Money, but guilty to the lesser included offence of manslaughter, with the consent of the Crown.
He also pleaded guilty to indignity to a dead body when he appeared in a Sault Ste. Marie courtroom.
The 62-year-old victim's death occurred between Aug. 28, 2018 and May 28, 2019.
His remains were located in a wooded area in Elliot Lake in early August of 2019.
The Crown and defence jointly recommended that Cote be sentenced to 10 years in a federal penitentiary - less credit for the time he has spent in custody since his arrest.
Superior Court Justice Edward Gareau heard it is believed that Money was killed in his apartment, where he lived with Cote, sometime near the end of August 2018.
Cote struck him on the head with a hammer, and later dismembered his body, prosecutor Trent Wilson told the court, reading from an agreed statement of facts.
At the time, the accused was experiencing significant and undiagnosed mental health disorders.
"He was paranoid and unreasonably afraid," and didn't intentionally kill Money, the assistant Crown attorney said.
Defence lawyer Michael Lacy said "very serious and significant circumstances had led to the death of a human being."
Money "was victimized" by Cote's condition and so was the community, he told the court.
"Mental health issues significantly contributed to the circumstances of the offences."
The two men had argued over something, Cote feared for his safety and "it was an unreasonable fear," Lacy said.
Following his Aug. 29, 2019 arrest in Vancouver, Cote was diagnosed with a number psychiatric illnesses, including schizophrenia and major depressive disorder, complicated by a personality disorder.
Due to his mental health unwellness, he was unable to participate in an assessment, the Toronto lawyer said.
A treatment order enabled doctors in North Bay to stabilize his mental health issues.
Lacy said. Cote was in crisis, but now is in a more stable place.
"He has benefited from intervention. He's doing much better and continuing on with his medication."
Wilson said hopefully by his guilty pleas and acceptance of the circumstances, Cote "sees the magnitude of what he has done."
Calling it "a particularly sad case," the Crown said Money was a simple man living a simple life, who needed someone to share costs after his live-in partner died, and took Cote in.
"Very little attention was given" when Money went missing at the end of August 2018 and police finally were involved in February 2019.
Cote had told people the victim had met a woman and moved to Toronto.
He continued to live in the man's apartment, with the rent automatically taken from Money's bank account.
"He is able to live there rent free after Money goes missing," Wilson said.
The Crown said it is hoped Cote "will take the time to rehabilitate himself so when he is eventually released he doesn't pose a danger to the community."
Gareau accepted the lawyers' joint submission, saying it is consistent with sentencing principles and appropriately balances the aggravating and mitigating factors.
"The victim lost his life to senseless violence," the judge said, adding it is aggravating that he was killed in own home by someone he had taken in and then was dismembered.
Cote's guilty pleas are mitigating, and he has "a plethora of mental issues" that were undiagnosed at the time, the judge said, adding there is a nexus between these issues and his actions towards Money.
The sentence balances all the factors and circumstances and meets the ends of justice, as well as the need for denunciation and deterrence when a human life is taken, he said.
Gareau imposed a 10-year prison term for the manslaughter offence, and two years concurrent for the indignity to a body charge.
With the credit he received for his pre-sentence custody Cote faces a further five years, four months behind bars.
The judge recommended that Cote, who is bilingual, serve his time in the Archambault Institution in Quebec or Matsqui Institution in Abbotsford, BC., where he can get treatment for his mental health issues.
Gareau also imposed a life-time weapons prohibition and ordered Cote to provide a DNA sample for the national database.