A father convicted of first-degree murder in the death of his teenaged daughter two decades ago has been sentenced to life in prison.
Last month, jurors took about four hours to find Everton Biddersingh, 60, guilty, which carries a mandatory life sentence without parole for 25 years.
Justice Al O’Marra said Monday during sentencing that Biddersingh’s actions were “savage and monstrous.”
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“Her life with you was an unspeakable horror. She was starved. She was confined and chained. She was beaten and drowned,” said O’Marra. “You not only took her life but later desecrated her remains, left her unidentified and unmourned for many years.”
Court heard from the stepmother and brother about the terrible abuse 17-year-old Biddersingh endured before her death in 1994.
The defence called no witnesses and Biddersingh didn’t take the stand in his own defence.
He pleaded not guilty in the death of his daughter, whose charred body was found 21 years ago. It would be almost two decades before police were able to lay charges.
“That little girl spent 17 years with nobody really knowing what happened to her, so hopefully she rests better now knowing that her dad has been punished for what he did to her and her mom knows what happened to her,” Detective Sergeant Steve Ryan said outside the courthouse following the hearing.
The trial has previously heard that the teen was confined for hours in a tiny closet, had her head placed in a toilet that was flushed, was chained to the furniture at times, was denied food and was kicked, punched and thrown against walls by her father.
After she died, the Crown has said, Biddersingh crammed his daughter into a suitcase, drove her to a remote area and set her on fire.
With files from The Canadian Press
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