A second person charged following the death of a Guelph man last fall is out of jail.
Christopher Hanley pleaded guilty to committing an indignity to a dead body on Monday at the Ontario Court of Justice.
He was handed an 18 month jail sentence, minus time served.
But much like one of his co-accused in the case, Hanley was credited with extra time served and walked out the front door of the courthouse after what his lawyer called “totally unacceptable” conditions he faced in pre-sentence custody at Maplehurst Correctional Complex in Milton.
After factoring in the 1.5 days to every day served in pre-sentence custody, Hanley would have had 67 days left to serve, but was given the credit and is now serving three years probation.
Similar to the Darcy McGee decision, Justice Nicole Redgate agreed to give the extra credit to demonstrate the court’s condemnation of the “difficult pre-sentence custody conditions.”
All other charges against Hanley, including accessory after the fact murder, were dropped at the request of the Crown.
Defense lawyer Maxime Bedard told the court Hanley spent almost 90 per cent of his jail time in a situation called ‘triple bunking,’ where three people were forced to share a two-person cell.
He added 87 of the days Hanley served, there was a full lockdown at the jail.
“There’s no time outside, no time outside of the cell, there’s no shower taken, so you’re stuck 24 hours in this small cell with other people. You can’t shower, you can’t go outside,” Bedard said.
The defence had asked for the probationary period to be reduced, but Redgate declined.
The probation includes a no contact order with two of the accused, as well as other witnesses.
“Mr. Hanley has been sober during this time (in custody), and counsel reports that he is quite hopeful and wants to use this as a reset for a fresh starting point in his rehabilitative journey,” she said.
Hanley, along with McGee, Lindsay Zinger and Jason Richardson were all arrested in late October 2023 following the investigation into the death of a man police only identified as ‘Kenny.’
Kenny, 45, was reported missing and his body was found outside the city.
A lengthy investigation began last fall. Much of the investigation centred around a home on Guelph Street, with police vehicles on scene for several weeks.
In July, the three men were charged with committing an indignity to a dead body. Zinger was charged with being an accessory to the same charge.
Details of the incident, including evidence read into the record Monday, are protected under an ongoing publication ban.
Zinger and Richardson are expected to enter pleas in court next month.
When asked, Hanley declined to address the court.
