Oakville Beaver, 28 Sep 2011, p. 4

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fatigue; drained of energy, debilitated during the day; exhausted, no luxury of restorative sleep at night. I am heavy in my heart with pain. I weep often for the loss of my child. Kathy went on to say she is no lon- ger the mother, daughter, friend or employee she was before Comeaus death and, as such, feels she has not only been robbed of her son, but of the joy of living. She also said that if she could she would sentence Todorovich to the unending sorrow, grief, heartache, and sadness she wakes up to each day knowing that her son is no longer with her. I try not to let my mind wander to the never-will-bes or the what ifs, but its so hard for me not to cry when I think that I will never see his hand- some face again, hear his beautiful voice, see his name on my caller ID or open the front door and see him stand- ing there with that beautiful grin on his face, said Kathy, choking back tears. I will never see or hear him laugh again. He will never again show up and say, Mom lets go for some wings or come see this new trick I learned on my BMX bike. I will never hear the excitement in Jesses voice as he tells me he was invited to the Olympics or that he got his drivers licence or that he has asked his girlfriend to marry him or that he is going to be a father or a grandfather. I will never dance with him at his wedding. Jesse will never call me by the pet name he had for me. I will never receive another e-mail from him that simply says, Love you. Comeaus father, David, said the nightmare of the police ringing his doorbell in the early morning hours of July 11 2009 will never be forgotten. His sons murder, he said, has for- ever disrupted his family with Davids own parents moving to the verge of tears every time they see him now. I cant fix this, he said. David directed his final statements squarely at Todorovich. He wasnt just that kid, he said referencing what, he said Todorovich had called Comeau during the trial. He was Jesse Comeau, my only son. Comeaus stepmother Kathy Bradley also submitted a victim impact state- ment, but did not read it in court. A poster of Comeau was shown to Gray during the proceedings. Pictures on the poster included Comeau as a child, on his BMX, on his 16th and final birthday, and with his family. The defence also submitted letters attesting to Todorovichs good charac- ter written by his father, brother and others and asked they be taken into consideration as Todorovich was sen- tenced. Todorovichs father, Sasha, called his son a caring young man who didnt mean for Comeaus death to happen. He said his son feels tremendous remorse and suffers from nightmares and anxiety attacks. Todorovich, Sasha said, worries about what the Comeau family is going through and blames no one else for what happened that night. Other letter writers stated Todorovich had diligently followed his bail conditions. Todorovich also spoke, turning, at one point, to directly address the Comeau family. I want to say how terribly sorry I am for taking the life of your son Jesse, he said. Not a day goes by when I dont beat myself up over what happened. I take full responsibility for the hurt I have caused. Todorovich apologized to his own family for putting them through this ordeal. Comeaus father reflected on Todorovichs apology. Id like to believe him, he said. Hopefully this changes him. During the trial, Todorovich admit- ted to causing Comeaus death and injuring Dean and Pringle at the party, but claimed it was done in self-defence after an angry crowd of Burlington teenagers turned on him and his friends. Much of the testimony given about the party was contradictory. The jurys verdict suggests that while they didnt believe Todorovichs self-defence explanation they also did not believe the teen intended to harm anyone. During the sentencing hearing, Crown Attorney Brian OMarra said a sentence of eight to 12 years was appro- priate while Todorovichs lawyer Jeff Manishen argued for a sentence of four to five years. In the end, Gray opted for six and a half years stating his decision was based on a number of factors. These factors included Todorovich was 18 at the time of the stabbing, that he has no criminal record and he graduated from Humber College while awaiting trial. The fact Todorovich brought the knife to the party weighed heavily on the sentence. Gray said the sentence must punish Todorovich, but not destroy him. He finally settled on a term of seven years in prison. With credit given to time Todorovich has already served, and to the restric- tive bail conditions he has been subject to, the sentence was reduced to six and a half years. They did, however, find him not guilty of second-degree murder, the attempted murder of Gary Dean, and the assault Katie Pringle with a knife. Dean and Pringle were also attend- ing the party where Comeau was stabbed. The delivery of the sentence, Friday, had a devastating impact on all pres- ent with Todorovichs family sitting in silence as he was led from the court- room in handcuffs. Members of Comeaus family could be seen wiping away tears and embrac- ing each other with many stating they were simply happy the ordeal of the trial was over. Reaction to the sentence itself was guarded. Nothing will bring Jesse back, said Comeaus mother Kathy. Comeaus father David said there are no winners in this case I wouldnt want to have made the decision on how long he got, he said. I dont think Im the person to do that. I have a strong belief system. I wouldnt want that on my con- science. David with the trial now over he will be able to concentrate on the positive memories he has of his son. Other close relatives of Comeau also weighed in on Todorovichs sen- tence. At least hes going to jail, said Bruce Decoff, Comeaus uncle. Well eventually forget about him, but we will never forget about Jesse. Prior to the sentencing, Gray heard from Comeaus parents, who read two heart-breaking victim impact state- ments to the court. I can never know normal again, said Kathy. Jesses death has affected me in so many ways - physically, mentally, emotionally and financially. Relentless w w w .i n si d eH A LT O N .c o m O A K V IL LE B EA V ER W ed ne sd ay , S ep te m be r 28 , 2 01 1 4 FALL SERVICE SPECIAL MAINTENANCE SERVICE PACKAGE 39$ 95FORONLY MOST CARS AND LIGHT TRUCKSFOLLOWING FORD'S REGULAR MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE IMPROVES VEHICLE'S FUEL ECONOMY. THIS PACKAGE INCLUDES... Environmental Fee & Tax Not Included COMPLIMENTARY CAR WASH with all Maintenance Service. Includes most cars and light trucks ? Factory Trained Technicians ? Genuine Factory Parts ? 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