9-year sentence for Guelph manslaughter
GUELPH — Sean Haverty will be spending the next six years behind bars for killing 38-year-old Christopher Schweitzer in June 2015.
Justice Nancy Mossip read out her sentence on Tuesday morning at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Guelph. About 10 members of Schweitzer’s family were present to hear the sentence, including Missy Chartrand, Schweitzer’s widow, who could be heard sobbing quietly as Mossip read her decision.
Haverty, 51, was sentenced to nine years, less pretrial custody of 36 months, after being convicted of manslaughter. He also received three years for a firearm offence, but this sentence will be served concurrently with the manslaughter conviction.
Schweitzer died on the porch of his home on Tiffany Street on June 18, 2015, after he was shot in the neck by Haverty, his neighbour, during an altercation.
The jury was told by defence attorney Ari Goldkind that Haverty acted in self-defence when his face was cut open after he was struck with a glass bong. They were also told by assistant Crown attorney Judith MacDonald that Schweitzer’s death was planned and deliberate.
“I have considered all of the circumstances and there is no doubt this is a manslaughter with significant aggravating features,” Mossip said, adding the biggest aggravating factor was that Haverty went over to Schweitzer’s house with a loaded gun to threaten him.
She highlighted the seven victim impact statements, written by members of Schweitzer’s family, calling their words “heartbreaking.”
“Mr. Schweitzer was clearly loved deeply by all of his family,” she said. “It is clear that Chris was an amazing person. To say that Chris is missed by his family members, every minute of every day, would not be an overstatement.”
She also mentioned the five letters in support of Haverty, written by his friends and family members, and the fact that Haverty showed remorse for his crime.
“I find there is hope for Mr. Haverty’s rehabilitation after he has served his sentence for the crimes he committed,” she said.
Haverty was originally charged with first-degree murder. After the three-week trial, the jury decided that he did not have the state of mind required to commit murder, Mossip said. The jury also rejected the defence’s argument that Haverty shot Schweitzer in self-defence.
“Mr. Schweitzer died as a result of (Haverty’s) decision to take the loaded gun, and the events that occurred on the doorstep of Mr. Schweitzer’s home,” she said, adding Haverty must bear the full responsibility for Schweitzer’s death.
After hearing the nine-year sentence, Karen Thompson, Schweitzer’s sister, walked out of the courtroom. As she left, she looked toward defence lawyer Goldkind and his assistant and said, “If you’re lucky, he’ll live beside you when he gets out.”
At Thompson’s home later that day, she and her mother Linda Schweitzer spoke to media about the trial and the decision. Both said they were disappointed.
“All I can see in my mind is Haverty at the door and Chris staring down at the gun, being absolutely petrified, and Haverty shooting him,” Linda said.
Thompson said the court process was much too long, describing it as “two years of sheer hell.”
This grief was compounded in the fall of 2016 when an assistant crown attorney’s vehicle was broken into and a flash drive with the family’s personal information was stolen.
Thompson was sent a letter from the Ministry of the Attorney General letting her know of the privacy breach and recommended she change her phone number and contact a credit agency. This incident happened two weeks after Crown witness Ken Trainer died.
“All of a sudden you’re finding out that a witness has died, a guy just killed my brother, and now this flash drive is out, and they know all my information, my everything,” Thompson said.
“We were absolutely petrified,” Linda added.
Thompson said she wants the law that allows drunkenness to be used as a defence in a murder trial to be changed. The jury was asked to consider the evidence of Haverty’s level of intoxication when coming to their verdict.
The end of the trial doesn’t mean the end of struggles for the Schweitzer family. Thompson said she never needed medication before her brother’s death, but now she relies on antidepressants and anti-anxiety pills.
“Nothing used to scare me, but now I’m scared of everything,” she said. “How do you move on from this? Not only do you lose someone but you’ve lost someone to such a violent thing.”
Linda said she’s in therapy. She said she won’t ever be able to forgive Haverty for what he did and she’s “absolutely petrified to think that he’ll live not far from me” when he gets out.