Etobicoke man gets 5 years for strangling wife of nearly 60 years

Larry and Helen Fronczak were high school sweethearts who married and raised their three children in what family and friends describe as a happy North York household in the ’ 60s and ’ 70s.

“My father was a great provider, loving husband and always ensured we did not go without,” the couple’s youngest son, Mark Fronczak, wrote in a lengthy letter describing the outdoor activities, vacations and other time the family spent together.

Theirs was a nearly 60- year marriage to be emulated, said others. “No one can truly know what goes on behind closed doors, but our observations were that this was a wonderful, kind, caring couple who loved each other and their family,” stated long- time friends from the Collingwood area, also in a letter addressed to court.

So there was a “consensus of profound shock and disbelief,” wrote another friend, that on March 18, 2019, Larry, then 80, strangled Helen, 79, in the couple’s apartment in Etobicoke. Paramedics found her body on the floor with a belt and coat hanger around her neck. Lying beside her was her husband, awake but not speaking, a knife and hammer nearby.

On Monday, a Toronto judge sentenced Larry Fronczak to five years in prison. With presentence custody taken into account, including enhanced time for jailhouse lockdowns, the sentence remaining to be served is 14 months and 26 days imprisonment in provincial jail.

Superior Court Justice Maureen Forestell acknowledged the sentence is below the usual range of between eight and 10 years for a domestic manslaughter case. She also noted there were aggravating factors. ( Fronczak pleaded guilty to manslaughter in November, reduced from second- degree murder.)

“A vulnerable victim was killed in her home in an extremely violent manner. Domestic violence is a serious problem in our community and the sentences imposed by our courts must reflect the condemnation of the offence of domestic homicide.”

Nevertheless, the judge said, “the circumstances of this case are exceptional.”

Fronczak had no criminal record, nor history of physical aggression or substance abuse while working his way up to the position of president of a fire security company. Helen Fronczak was a stay at home mother.

At the time of the killing, Larry Fronczak was experiencing a major depressive episode, which the court heard was triggered by the sudden and tragic death of one of his grandsons, who overdosed and froze to death outside.

After that happened in January 2019, Larry was prescribed antidepressants and sleeping medications and family members described him as depressed, declining in personal grooming and appearance.

Prosecutor Sunita Malik, who had suggested an appropriate range of sentence is eight to 10 years, said the Crown is reviewing the decision to assess whether there are any grounds of appeal.

Defence lawyer Alvin Shidlowski argued because of the global pandemic, Fronczak should spend no more time in custody and be placed on three years probation.

In an email to the Star, Shidlowski wrote that the case “is terribly sad and tragic on so many levels.”