Joseph Tobicoe sat in an orange jumpsuit with his head, bowed as, for two hours, the family of his victim, Tyler King, poured out their pain and anger in court.
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Tobicoe was found guilty of second-degree murder in June, after killing King, his distant cousin, by bludgeoning him with an electric guitar, and then setting an apartment on fire in order to conceal his actions.
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“The emotional roller coast has been a terrible experience of depression, anger and fear,” said Connie King Henry, Tyler King’s mother.
“Mostly I’ve been overwhelmed with sadness and the anger does not go away.”
Several of King’s family talked of the pain of awaiting confirmation that the body found in the burned Hagersville apartment on July 29, 2020 was indeed King.
During a trial, Tobicoe admitted he fought with his friend after they were drinking together at Tobicoe’s apartment and said King, who was 30, had stolen some money from him for drugs. He swung his guitar at him in anger.
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But Justice James Ramsey said he didn’t buy the money being stolen and instead believed Tobicoe was insulted because King called him a “pussy”.
Tobicoe claimed not to remember all that happened that night but weepingly said he remembered swinging his guitar.
Texts between Tobicoe and another friend were aggravating factors, said assistant Crown attorney Chelsea LaPointe.
About 90 minutes before killing King, Tobicoe texted “Please hurry. I’m going to smash this guy with my guitar” and then, as King was dying, Tobicoe texted a photo of his victim’s bloodied face.
“He kept calling me a pussy and I f—ed up,” he wrote.
“Almost dead.”
“Done. Ambulance on the way.”
But Tobicoe didn’t call an ambulance and, instead, set the apartment on fire.
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“What a cowardly action, to take my son’s life over such stupidity,” said Henry.
King’s mother was just one of many family who told the judge how loved King, the father of four young children, had been.
They spoke of King’s close relationships, kind personality and love of music.
A community impact statement was read explaining how difficult the offense was for the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation of which both men were members.
“Tyler’s life was violently taken during the COVID pandemic when the community was in lockdown,” said the writer of the report.
“We were not able to support Tyler’s family as we normally would. People were silently suffering.”
The judge was given an extensive Gladue report and submissions from Tobicoe’s lawyer asking for a lesser sentence than the mandatory minimum of 25 years with no chance of parole for 10 years.
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Jaime Stephenson based his reasons on Tobicoe’s rough youth where both his biological father and step-father died, turning the adolescent to drugs and some of the “collateral consequences” in the community which discussed banning him.
Ramsey said he heard the grievance of King’s family.
“They have lost too much.”
Ramsey said setting fire to the apartment was a calloused and dangerous action that caused the King family even more grievance as they couldn’t follow the normal cultural procedures involved in a funeral.
“The callousness of the offender was further evidenced by his texts to his friends,” said the judge, ruling that the mandatory minimum sentence was fully valid.
He sentenced Tobicoe to life in prison with no chance of parole for 11 years.
Tobicoe left the courtroom with a quick backward glance toward his own family.
@EXPSGamble
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