Suburban Toronto man convicted on manslaughter charge for beating girlfriend to death

(Original Post 3-8-08)

A man who admitted killing his girlfriend by beating her to death was convicted of manslaughter, not 2nd degree murder by an Ontario court, the same sentence his lawyer tried to have him plead guilty to before his trial.

Audrey Cote, 21, was killed when 28 year old Ryan Bucknor punched her in the face and stomped on her chest in Brampton, a northwest suburb of Toronto. Bucknor could have been convicted of 2nd degree (but not 1st degree) murder, which carries a life sentence with no parole from between 10 and 25 years.

Crown prosecutor Dave King rejected Bucknor's bid to plead guilty to manslaughter before the trial began. King was confident he could prove Bucknor knew what he was doing when he repeatedly punched Cote in the face, stomped on her chest and possibly tried to strangle her in her basement apartment on Fletcher's Creek Blvd. in Brampton.

Bucknor never denied killing Cote, who worked at a Brampton strip club.

Police investigators told how Cote was laying down at her apartment when Buckner beat her so viciously that blood flew up and reached the ceiling.

He told a Crown-appointed psychiatrist that he thought he was killing "a demon" when he was beating Cote. After beating her and leaving her dying, Bucknor left the apartment and tore off his clothes as he ran down the street, throwing money to passersby and shouting he was "a messenger from God." He was initially arrested under the Mental Health Act after he was found naked and sitting in the back seat of a stranger's car. He told a police officer he was God.

But King suggested to jurors that Bucknor faked his mental problems to get out of a murder charge. In a police interview after his arrest, Bucknor described how he punched and hit Cote and how the beating gave him a "rush." He also agreed it felt like a "thrill kill," although he admitted he felt it was as if he was "acting in a movie." A close friend testified that Bucknor acted strangely just days before the fatal attack.

Bucknor was hearing voices, the friend said, and thought people could read his thoughts. He had also moved all of his furniture to one side of the living room in his apartment.
Hall urged jurors to rely on the evidence of two forensic psychiatrists, who said Bucknor was suffering from a major mental illness, likely schizophrenia, which could have been triggered by his chronic marijuana use.

"If he's killing a demon, then he can't be seeing reality the way we do," Hall told jurors.
"This man was delusional ... he was not rational.

"At the time of the incident, this man was suffering from a mental illness, a psychotic illness. His thoughts, his emotions, his behaviour was impaired."

Psychiatrists conceded Bucknor wasn't suffering from any mental health problems at trial but jurors heard he was placed on anti-psychotic medicine during his first year while in custody awaiting trial.

Bucknor will be sentenced May 5.

(Update 5-29-08) Bucknor was sentenced to 10 years in prison, between the defense recommendation for 7.5 years and the prosecution's recommendation for between 12 and 15 years. Justice John Sproat said the "intentional application of force" overrode Bucknor's mental illiness, however, he also expressed the opinion that "I hope you are able to rehabilitate yourself and make something of your life."

Bucknor was given credit for 68 months in jail (Canada gives time served in jail before trial double time, so he has to serve 52 months more. Bucknor is barred for life from owning weapons, and must submit a sample to Canada's DNA database.