This article was previously published on GuelphToday.
Results of a post-mortem exam conducted on Kenny Wright’s body “changed the whole nature of the case” against four people that were charged in the wake of the Guelph man’s death last fall.
The results, which came back in July, stated Wright "most likely" died as a result of intoxication of multiple drugs.
This revelation is being made public after Darcy McGee, Christopher Hanley, Jason Richardson and Lindsay Zinger were all sentenced separately over the last couple months in connection with the case.
Neither of the four admitted to playing a role in Wright's death.
So why did the four accused go through the effort of disposing the 45-year-old's body, whose disappearance sparked a weeks-long investigation in a quiet Guelph neighbourhood last October?
According to an agreed statement of facts read out during the sentencing hearing for each of the four, Wright was living on Guelph Street with Hanley and Zinger, along with Zinger’s elderly aunt.
At the time, Wright had been struggling with a drug addiction and "was very ill" as a result.
Wright had been working on a blue truck in the garage, which belonged to Zinger’s late father.
Wright was trying to get the truck running and was reportedly promised a motorcycle in exchange for the work.
A mutual friend of the three, had been spending time with Wright as he worked on the truck.
“She found out that Kenny was on the safe supply program,” the statement reads. “He used fentanyl and meth, and that he was very sick. As a result of which, he was falling asleep in strange places.”
On Oct. 5, that friend received a call that Wright had been "beaten badly," and after asking around, she went to the Guelph Street home.
“Chris Hanley was outside with a bucket and a mop, along with some unknown guy,” the statement continued.
The friend asked Hanley about Wright’s whereabouts, and he said he didn’t know and “totally changed the topic.”
Later that night, the friend returned, sat in the home with Zinger, who started crying, said “Kenny was gone” and that there was a physical altercation in the garage, where he died, but didn’t elaborate on when.
The physical altercation was later declared hearsay evidence and was dismissed.
The friend was told Wright’s body remained in the garage for a day and his clothes were removed and put into two garbage bags.
Zinger and an unidentified female were seen on video disposing of the bags in two bins at Dawson Medical Centre, just a few short blocks away from the home.
After that, Zinger reportedly told the friend that Hanley contacted Richardson and McGee to assist him in disposing of the body. Zinger was not aware of where Wright’s body ended up.
On Oct. 8, the friend went to Dawson Medical Centre and found the two bags.
It contained clothes worn by Wright and Hanley, along with packaging for extra large gloves.
She brought these bags to police. It sparked an investigation into Wright’s whereabouts.
Police then got a search warrant for the Guelph Street home and the detached garage, and were on scene for a couple of weeks.
Investigators uncovered receipts from several businesses confirming the purchase of items such as “a significant amount of tape and garbage bags,” shop towels and black gloves.
Other items were also seized in the home and garage, including cut rope, part of an artificial Christmas tree, bleach, two chairs with suspected blood on them and a note that read “you owe me big f---ing time, I spent about five days cleaning.”
Police then acquired surveillance footage from businesses as part of its investigation, and confirmed Hanley and Richardson bought gloves late morning on Oct. 4, while Zinger made a pair of large purchases that afternoon.
Information learned through the investigation took officers to Belwood Lake Conservation Area.
Hanley, Richardson and McGee were seen on surveillance footage in a silver pick up truck entering the area the morning of Oct. 4, where they “dumped a red storage bin containing the body of Kenneth Wright in the woods.”
Richardson was the driver. The truck belonged to a man who admitted to loaning his truck to "an unknown male when (he) was on a drug bender."
Police attended on Oct. 27, and while searching a trail, located the bin and Wright’s remains.
Several garbage bags, among other items, were used to wrap and cover his body. They matched items the four accused were seen purchasing.
McGee, Hanley, Richardson and Zinger were all arrested and charged with accessory after the fact murder, and made several court appearances over the next few months.
On July 12, results of a post-mortem exam were submitted. It indicated Wright “most likely” died as a result of intoxication of multiple drugs. The report said Wright had fentanyl and morphine in his system.
"Examination of the body showed several non-fatal injuries that occurred before death," Crown attorney Christine Liu said in court.
"In addition to the injuries that occurred before death, there were injuries that had equivocal timing relative to death."
The report cited multiple rib fractures and burns to the soles of his feet and fingers.
"As a result of the report, the Crown could not prove that Mr. Wright was murdered," Justice Nicole Redgate said in delivering her sentencing to Richardson on Thursday.
McGee, Hanley and Richardson were charged with committing an indignity to a dead body. Zinger was charged with accessory after the fact for the same charge.
One by one, all four accused pleaded guilty to those latest charges.
Both Hanley and McGee were given 18-month prison sentences, but were credited with extra time served due to the poor conditions at Maplehurst Correctional Complex in Milton.
Both walked out of court on three-year probation terms with strict conditions.
Richardson was also handed an 18-month sentence, but was given an additional six months in jail for unrelated charges and remains behind bars for another 67 days. He will begin his three years of probation once released.
On Thursday, Redgate stated it would be "absurd" to give Richardson double the credit given to the other two.
He was given 85 additional days credit.
Zinger was given a suspended sentence in her plea deal entered earlier this month, and is also under probation.
Neither of the four reported the death to police, which Redgate described as an abandonment of moral duty.
Hilary Dutting, Hanley’s defence lawyer, said substance abuse disorder played a role in judgment, foresight, their lack of trust in the authorities and “making good decisions in moments where something very scary may have happened.”
“It doesn’t justify (their actions), but it certainly (should) be considered as very mitigating,” she said in her sentencing submissions on Sept. 16.
David Heath – McGee’s defence lawyer – added during his sentencing on Aug. 30 that Redgate should see his guilty plea as mitigating and “maybe not necessarily as late in the game as one might view it.”
He noted the eight-month delay in getting the forensic report, adding McGee “wasted no time in coming forward” to resolve his case shortly after the new charge was laid.
Wright's parents, Linda and Joe, submitted victim impact statements to the court. Redgate says the statements "described the heartbreak and anguish their family experienced during the time where Mr. Wright's whereabouts were unknown."
The statement added the parents continue to suffer as a result of Wright's death.
