A young man from Pelican Narrows has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years in the stabbing death of his grandmother.
Riley Ballantyne, who was 20-years-old at the time of the attack, hugged family members at Court of Queen’s Bench today before being led off to jail.
He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for fatally stabbing Jean Ballantyne in the family’s home on Christmas day, 2010.
Court heard Riley Ballantyne suffers from mental difficulties and sometimes speaks to himself.
Crown prosecutor Fran Atkinson says the stabbing would never have happened if the accused hadn’t been drinking and the entire case is quite tragic.
“Yes it was a very sad and tragic case and there’s no winner here but defense and I feel that this is a fit sentence for this particular case and this particular accused.”
Court heard that Riley, who had problems with drugs and alcohol, had been drinking on the day in question and things turned nasty when he returned home.
This is his first offence and Riley has already served two years in custody but this time will not shorten the amount of time the young man must serve before he is eligible for parole.
The judge made a referral for Riley Ballantyne to get psychiatric help as soon as possible.