Even as he was being sentenced, a London man convicted of murdering his uncle maintained his innocence.
Shane Wood was sentenced to a mandatory life sentence of 25 years without parole Tuesday for the first degree murder of Paul Curry.
He also recieved concurrent two-year sentences for arson and causing an indignity to a body. He is prohibited from owning any weapons, and must submit a sample of his DNA to the national criminal database.
Curry's badly beaten body was found September 16, 2013 in a burned out bedroom at his Manitoba St. home.
Tensions in the courtroom were extremely high as Wood addressed his family.
"I lost Paul the same as all of you lost Paul," Wood told the court. "If Paul were here now he would say Shane did not intentionally murder me. This is not a sentence I should receive."
Wood also explained how his daughter would suffer without her father for the next 25 years.
"He is certainly someone who has demonstrated that he is determined to speak his mind. He believes very much in everything he said," said defence lawyer Damian Hardy. "The sentence imposed is statutorily prescribed so there were no surprises there and no surprises as well with the level of emotion and sadness inside that courtroom. Hopefully, at the end of the day people are able to start moving on."
Victim impact statements were read by six members of the family prior to the sentencing. All painted a picture of heartache, depression and suffering over the loss of Curry.
Curry's brother, Raymond Curry told the court, "I am bound by scripture to forgive Shane, but I am praying to God to show me how."
Curry's niece and goddaughter Melissa McQuillen spoke about Wood's lack of remorse saying his lies were gut wrenching to sit though and how she still attends grief counseling.
The division of the family couldn't have been more clear than when Curry's brother John Curry addressed Wood in the courtroom.
"You are a son, a brother, and a father, but to me you are just a guy who killed my brother."
Outside of the courthouse John Curry told reporters that his family has suffered enough and this is as close to closure as they will get.
"There is no victory, there is no win. We are going to go out and sit together and for the first hour we aren't going to say anything," he said. "We can't live the rest of our lives the way we have the last two and a half years. We have to move forward."
