Man sent to prison for role in 2013 death

Bill Leonard Favel didn’t take his first drink until he was 29.

His resulting criminal record coincided with his spiral into substance abuse, culminating, in 2013, in his role in the violent death of 32-year-old Ronald Matthew Kay.

“I never was the type, just got caught up ...,” Favel said, presumably about the homicide, during his sentencing at Regina Court of Queen’s Bench on Friday. “I just want to move forward with my life. I think I’ve learned my lesson of what drugs and alcohol can do. I’m sorry.”

Appearing to fight back emotion, 40-year-old Favel expressed his condolences to Kay’s family, who court heard were left devastated when their loved one went missing toward the end of 2013.

It wasn’t until December 2016, when Trevor Evan Asapace attended Regina Police Service headquarters with a backpack full of stolen clothing and a confession about his role in Kay’s death and disappearance, that anyone learned what had happened.

Asapace has since pleaded guilty, receiving the equivalent of a 15year sentence for manslaughter.

Favel has since also pleaded guilty to manslaughter and, on Friday, returned to court for sentencing. After hearing submissions from Crown and defence counsel, Justice Lana Krogan agreed to impose the jointly requested sentence of 8½ years. With remand credit factored in, Favel was left with six years, four months to serve.

“The sentence recognizes the harm you have caused, not only to Mr. Ronald Kay and the horror he experienced prior to his death, it also recognizes the pain you have caused to Mr. Kay’s family and friends,” the judge said.

She noted victim impact statements filed by Crown prosecutor Zoey Kim-Zeggelaar speak to a “profound loss” by those who loved Kay. She said family members described feelings of “despair, disbelief, fear, confusion, grief and constant pain.”

While most of the statements were not read out in open court, Kim-Zeggelaar read two filed by Kay ’s sisters, expressing grief over their loved one’s death, fear something similar could befall them, and pain that they have been unable to give their brother a proper burial.

“I wish we could find his body, lay him to rest,” wrote Penny Kay.

Court heard a family member reported Kay missing on Nov. 26, 2013. An investigation resulted, but police were unable to find the man.

Asapace’s confession approximately three years later provided painful answers, added to by coaccused who were subsequently also questioned.

Police learned Kay, Favel and Asapace were among a group of people drinking and using drugs at Favel’s Garnet Street house sometime in late 2013. An argument erupted between Kay and Favel, the latter accusing Kay of sexual offences involving children.

The argument turned physical, with Favel hitting Kay a number of times and putting him on the floor. Asapace and another man became involved in the assault, Asapace using a pellet gun to shoot Kay in the groin before urinating on him. Asapace further admitted to cutting off Kay’s hair to make him more difficult to identify, and the man was then placed in a garbage can in the alley.

He was never found.

Defence lawyer Bruce Campbell noted this offence was completely out of character for the Favel who existed prior to his fall to substance abuse. Raised in a loving home, Favel was gainfully employed and avoided trouble with the law until, as Campbell put it, “alcohol and drugs got the better of him.”

“There is a deep regret in him for what he did,” Campbell said of the homicide.

Before adjourning court, Krogan urged Favel to make better choices in the future to ensure he doesn’t again cause pain to others.

“Make choices instead that honour and respect others and yourself,” she said. “There is time to dedicate yourself to that pursuit, Mr. Favel.”