Sentenced Thursday | Man will be eligible for parole in 2019

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By SHAWN BERRY
berry.shawn@dailygleaner.com

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A Fredericton man who stabbed his roommate to death in a fit of rage last winter sobbed and apologized for his actions as he was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for at least a decade.

"I'll never really understand why I did what I did that day," said Laurence Austin Thorneycroft, 53.

His voice wavered, he shook and broke into whispers as he addressed the court.

"I will never forgive myself," he said, turning to the family of the victim.

A jury found Thorneycroft guilty of the Feb. 10 attack in which he stabbed David Timothy McAdam, 57, a dozen times.

McAdam was passed out on a couch at the time of the attack and couldn't defend himself.

A doctor testified McAdam was intoxicated to the point that a normal person would be comatose or dead. McAdam was an alcoholic.

"It cannot be overstated that the taking of anyone's life is horrendous under any circumstances," Justice Judy Clendening said while handing down the minimum sentence.

She said there appeared to be no aggravating factors that would warrant a longer sentence. The only mitigating factor was that Thorneycroft was clearly upset and remorseful about what happened, she said.

While Thorneycroft initially placed the knife in McAdam's hand and called 9-1-1 to report a suicide, he admitted his culpability within an hour before he was even told that McAdam was dead.

Thorneycroft, who has no previous criminal record, has never explained why the attack occurred, except to say that he "snapped."

"He has said he doesn't know what spurred it. I doubt he does," the judge said.

Testimony at trial indicated that both men had been on a drinking binge for weeks.

A conviction of second-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison. A judge must set parole eligibility for a period between 10 and 25 years.

In handing down her decision Thursday, Clendening said she felt her options were limited by the New Brunswick Court of Appeal's decision in another second-degree murder case she had tried.

Earlier this year, the appellate court reduced the second-degree sentence against Adam Wade Nash, who shot his brother in October 2006, from 20 years without eligibility for parole to 12 years without parole.

She said there were aggravating factors in the Nash case.

"In my opinion, the Nash case sets a precedent that judges in this province cannot ignore," she said.

The Supreme Court of Canada decided not to hear an appeal of the Nash decision from the Crown.

McAdam's sister, Nancy Gibbs, read an emotional victim-impact statement to the court.

Despite being plagued by alcoholism, Gibbs said, McAdam was a beautiful person.

"Tim was more than my brother; he was my friend," she said.

"Since this cowardly, tragic act, my life has not been the same," Gibbs said through tears. "I am unable to sleep and I find myself wondering if Larry will be standing over me with a knife.

"My only comfort is that he (Tim) is in a better place."

Thorneycroft fought back tears as he listened to her statement, which Gibbs delivered before his statement.

In his own statement, Thorneycroft said he recognized he "took away a father, a son, a brother, a friend."

"He was a friend and very, very kind," he said.