By Curtis Galbraith

Court

Wetaskiwin court sentences former Peace Region man in Galahad, Alberta murder case

May 27, 2020 | 6:49 PM

WARNING: Some of the details of this story are graphic. Discretion is advised.

A life sentence with no chance of parole for 17 years has been handed to a man originally from the Peace after a murder near Galahad, Alberta.

Brett Thomas Fenton was charged after the death of wife Jesslyn Fenton in the early morning hours of November 2, 2018.

He pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree murder during a court session Wednesday.

Jesslyn was also originally from the Peace. She was 25 years old when she died, and the couple had a small child.

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An agreed statement of facts presented in Wetaskiwin Court of Queen’s Bench says she was asleep when Brett cut and stabbed her, then strangled her after she fell to the floor during a struggle.

He later confessed to Stettler RCMP.

Court heard Brett had been hospitalized twice for mental health concerns, once when the couple lived in Grande Prairie and once in Ponoka after they had moved to a place near Galahad.

Brett was hospitalized the second time after he had called RCMP and said he had a dream about killing Jesslyn.

He was kept in Ponoka for 12 days and released on October 22, 10 days before the murder. He told a social worker two days later that he had been having suicidal thoughts, but no homicidal ones. He reported having neither to the social worker October 25 and was due to have an appointment with Stettler Mental Health November 5.

In passing sentence, the judge said there were two key aggravating factors. Those included this being an act of domestic violence where, as the judge described, trust was violated in the extreme. The judge also said Jesslyn was extremely vulnerable because she was asleep and had no opportunity to defend herself.

The judge also took into account mitigating factors like the confession, the guilty plea, and that he believed Fenton was genuinely remorseful.

Five family members and friends gave victim impact statements, two of which were read out by other people because the ones who wrote the statements were too emotional to read them out themselves.

One from a friend talked about how the last year-and-a-half has been absolutely devastating and that she will never forget hearing what she called the horrifying words about how her friend’s husband had killed her.

Family members said they had endured physical and mental health problems, had lost jobs, and had their worlds turned upside down.

Jesslyn’s Father told the court no one can imagine what is like to have the police come to your house and tell you that your first-born child has been murdered.

Jesslyn’s Mom directed her statement at Brett, describing him as a lost little boy she treated like a son and welcomed into the family, adding “a loss like this takes your whole world, tears it apart, and spits it out bit by bit.”

The entire proceeding was held via videoconferencing because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Crown prosecutors were in their offices in Wetaskiwin, the court clerk was in the Wetaskiwin courthouse, defence counsel was at his Edmonton office, the judge at a courtroom also in Edmonton, Fenton appeared from the Edmonton Remand Centre, and those who read their victim impact statements did so from home. Fenton appeared from the Edmonton Remand Centre.