Eight-year sentence for Peter Khill ‘cannot erase the anguish’ for shooting death of Jonathan Styres

Peter Khill has been sentenced to eight years in a federal penitentiary for manslaughter in the shooting death of Jonathan Styres.

The 33-year-old learned his fate in a packed courtroom filled with emotion Tuesday morning, looking straight ahead and barely flinching as Justice Andrew Goodman delivered the long-awaited sentence.

It marks the first time Khill will spend time behind bars since he blasted Styres twice with his shotgun in the early hours of Feb. 4, 2016.

Immediate reaction to Goodman's ruling was mixed. On one end of the gallery, audible sighs and some cries could be heard from Khill's family and friends; on the other, members of Styres' family could be seen hugging.

We're thankful it wasn't four years," Lindsay Hill, the mother of Styres' two daughters, said outside of court.

Hill was referencing defence lawyer Jeffery Manishen's request for a four-year term - the minimum for a firearm-related manslaughter charge. He argued his client acted in self-defence during the shooting, which occurred after Khill found Styres rummaging through his pickup truck on his pitch-black Binbrook driveway.

Khill testified during trial he feared for his life when - after yelling Hey! Hands up!" at Styres - Styres partially turned toward him and brought his arms to just below chest height, as if he was holding a gun.

Assistant Crown attorney Sean Doherty asked for a sentence of between eight and 12 years, citing multiple aggravating factors including the stealthy approach Khill took to shooting Styres, the number of shots fired and the manner in which Styres was shot.

While Goodman said Tuesday there was insufficient evidence concerning the Crown's latter claim - namely that Styres was on his hands and knees when Khill shot him a second time - he disagreed with the defence's argument of self-defence.

A claim of self-defence is not meant to be an insurance policy to actively take the law and the lives of other citizens into one's own hand," he said, quoting the decision of another judge in a similar manslaughter case.

Goodman added Khill had options available to him the morning he killed Styres. He could've stayed inside, called 911 or fired a warning shot. Instead, he sought to neutralize a threat," loaded his gun and resorted to lethal force.

And although Styres committed a crime by trying to either steal Khill's truck or steal its contents - the true motivation was never cleared up during trial - Goodman said that didn't warrant what ultimately befell him."

(I) t was Peter who failed to avoid the final, fatal altercation," he told the court, later underscoring the jury's rejection of self-defence in their manslaughter conviction last December.

Still, Goodman took time to highlight Khill's sincere remorse" and positive character. He pointed to the whopping 57 character references presented on Khill's behalf during sentencing submissions in April - the most I've ever (seen) in my career" - his apology to the Styres' family, and his exemplarily" conduct while out on bail.

The principles to the lengthy, 52-page ruling were to denunciate unlawful conduct, deter other offenders from similar behaviour and acknowledge the harm done to the victim's family and community.

Ultimately, that meant a term that was closer to the Crown's proposal - though Goodman was quick to note his sentence cannot erase the anguish" Styres' death continues to carry.

No sentence I impose today can ever compensate for or reflect the value of a life lost," the judge said.

There's still a lot of healing we have to do as a community," Mark Hill, Chief of Six Nations of the Grand River, said outside court.

Over the past seven years, Khill has been the subject of two trials - he was acquitted of murder in 2018 - a mistral, and appeals at both the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Leaving the courthouse, Manishen told reporters Khill has filed a notice of appeal related to the conviction. It alleges the trial judge erred in his charge instruction to the jury as well as in the admissibility of certain pieces of expert evidence, he said.

Manishen said he won't be handling the appeal, but noted an application for bail is pending.

For Lindsay Hill, news of those efforts leave her with a feeling she has harboured for many years.

It'll never be over," she said. If he had true remorse he would take the accountability after all these years."

Sebastian Bron is a reporter at The Spectator. sbron@thespec.com