Lawyer seeks leniency for man convicted of murder in Duke of York shooting

Published Monday, Feb. 07, 2011 12:32PM ESTLast updated Monday, Feb. 07, 2011 12:39PM EST0 comments

Kyle Weese’s defence lawyer argued Monday that his “turbulent and tragic upbringing,” which included a suicidal father and drug-abusing mother, should be a mitigating factor in his sentencing.

Mr. Weese, 27, faces a life sentence after being convicted of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Bailey Zaveda in 2008. He was also convicted on charges of aggravated assault; four other people were wounded in the October shooting outside Toronto’s Duke of York pub.

Mr. Weese could be eligible for parole anywhere between 10 and 25 years into his sentence; his lawyer argued Monday that imposing a stricter parole on him would be more fitting of a first-degree murder conviction.

“The sentence should reflect what they're being convicted of,” she said. “ The maximum sentence is reserved for cases involving the worst offence and the worst offender. ... A second-degree murder should not be sentenced as a first-degree murder.”

“Yes, it should,” murmured a couple of people sitting near the back of the courtroom, who had come in support of Ms. Zaveda’s family.

Mr. Weese sat in the prisoner’s box wearing a black suit jacket and white collared shirt, head closely shaved and a neat, narrow beard running along his chin and over his upper lip. He shifted his gaze from the judge and lawyers to those watching the trial, at one point winking and nodding at someone in the audience.

Madam Justice Mary Lou Benotto will deliver her sentencing decision March 28. One of the women who came to support Ms. Zaveda’s family swore under her breath when the judge said her verdict would have to come another day.

Helen Deir, Ms. Zaveda’s mother, said she was disappointed to have to wait almost two months more before getting a decision.

“We were hoping for everything [today],” she said. “Now we wait until almost the end of March? From October ’08?” she said after the hearing.

“It’s silliness,” she said of the defence’s arguments. “He had a bad home, his mother was bad, so he had to follow? ... He still made his own choices.”

But prosecutor Ann Morgan said she wasn’t surprised by the extra wait.

“It’s obviously a very serious case. I’m asking for the maximum parole eligibility and Her Honour’s going to have to give a lot of consideration. It’s a very serious case. So I don’t have a problem.”

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