James Dobbs didn’t know Noel Mahaffy.
The two of them met in the same unit at 90 Carden St. on July 10, 2022, where Dobbs was looking to purchase fentanyl.
Then, “without warning or provocation,” Dobbs “sucker punched” and unleashed an assault that killed Mahaffy. He then disposed of his body in a garbage bin behind a plaza along the Speed River.
Details of the killing were read out in Guelph’s Superior Court of Justice Tuesday, as Dobbs was handed a 25-year prison sentence. He is eligible for parole in 10 years.
This, in front of members of Mahaffy’s family, shedding tears as the 90-minute proceeding ensued.
Dobbs pleaded guilty to three charges, including the lesser charge of manslaughter.
The now 46-year-old was initially charged with second-degree murder.
It was the latest conviction on the rap sheet of a man with an extensive violent criminal history dating back to the mid-1990s, a history that the court took into consideration when handing down its sentence.
“The public needs protection from Mr. Dobbs,” said Crown attorney Mark Eshuis. “The record screams that, and the facts that you just heard also echo that loudly.”
Those facts – read into the record by assistant Crown Matthew McLean – detail that Dobbs was “high and awake” on methamphetamine for three days.
A female witness said Dobbs’ mental health had been in decline since the death of his grandmother a month earlier.
He “had been using an excessive amount of illegal drugs in that time, was not on medication prescribed for mental health problems and was talking about suicide.”
After the sucker punch, a male witness who was in the room that day was “forced” to stay in the room as Dobbs “punched and kicked Mr. Mahaffy” as part of the assault.
The female witness was there as well, but out of the room. She knocked on the door, the male answered and seemed “scared, crying” and fled the unit.
Mahaffy was already unconscious at this point, and the woman witnessed Dobbs stabbing him “a bunch of times.”
Early the next day, security footage shows Dobbs and another man wheeling a grey City of Guelph garbage can “which appeared to be very heavy” out of the building, through the streets of Guelph and ultimately behind a plaza at Gordon and Wellington Street, near the Speed River.
The serial number was visible in the footage, and matched the serial number of the bin found at the Speed River by police, with Mahaffy inside. The lid was screwed shut.
The facts also detail Dobbs helped clean up the unit, including the use of bleach and replacing floor tile.
“There’s no evidence of what exactly Mr. Dobbs did in terms of that clean up.”
He also pleaded guilty to committing an indignity to a dead body for disposing the body.
The third guilty plea was for aggravated assault for an incident two months prior to the homicide, involving a separate victim. He was initially charged with attempted murder in that incident.
In that case, Dobbs was in his unit at 90 Carden with his long-term girlfriend and the victim, all three of them using meth and fentanyl.
The woman left the unit at one point, and the victim began speaking to Dobbs about the woman, “who was currently engaged in a casual relationship with another male.”
“Suddenly, Mr. Dobbs repeatedly struck the victim in the head and body using an aluminum baseball bat,” McLean read to the court.
The victim was rendered unconscious, and woke up in another unit in different clothing, and was told to leave by an unknown person.
The victim’s injuries were extensive, including a brain bleed, skull fracture and facial injuries. He needed reconstructive surgery.
The manslaughter conviction results in 16 years in jail, minus time served. He was given a day and a half for every real day served.
Dobbs has been in jail since his arrest on July 13, 2022.
Dobbs got three years for the indignity conviction, and six years for the aggravated assault. Both of those charges will run consecutively to the manslaughter charge.
This latest sentence will also run concurrently with any other sentence he is serving.
Justice Clayton Conlan said the facts are “shocking,” called the photos of the scene “gruesome,” and that Dobbs “must be removed from society.”
He hopes Dobbs takes advantage of rehabilitation programs available to him in the time he is behind bars.
VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENTS
Mahaffy’s family – including his brother and longtime spouse – described the heart wrenching after effects of Noel’s death in powerful victim impact statements.
The family, in a joint statement, called the act “horrendous” and discussed the many sleepless nights and tears shed.
“You think jail is hell? Try living these years trying to wrap our heads around having to lay Noel to rest,” the family wrote in a joint statement, read out by McLean.
“He never hurt anyone, never did anything bad to anyone.
“Every time your cell door slams, may you be reminded of what you did, taking his life.”
The family talked about Noel’s “infectious smile and laughter.”
In a separate statement, Noel’s brother Neil wrote about his caring nature, his involvement in the trades and caring for his daughter and granddaughter.
Neil said Noel would go to 90 Carden regularly to help employ people in contracting positions.
He said Noel’s death left his only daughter with an emotional scar she couldn’t come back from, which resulted in an emotional breakdown.
Noel’s daughter died of a fentanyl overdose on Oct. 2, 2024.
“Prior to this, we did not know of her ever using this type of drug,” the statement reads.
“She had become very withdrawn, and even though we contacted her over and over again, we never really knew the pain she had endured in the loss of a father, who was always there for her at her side.”
He also detailed the economic impact of Noel’s death, saying it has been devastating on the family, including his four siblings, nieces and nephews and his granddaughter.
Cathryn Haight, Noel’s spouse of 18 years, said she has lost all ability to want to attend any lifestyle activities after the death.
“There isn’t one day that passes where I don’t think about what happened,” she said.
Haight said she has lost friends, her full-time job and her housing as a result.
She also detailed how she ended up in the ICU for over a month due to kidney failure.
“I, too, was close to death but I chose to fight for my deceased spouse since he lost his fight due to your hands,” Haight said.
“I think you have proven to Guelph and the courts how dangerous of a person you are.”
