Woman sentenced to over 7 years for fatal stabbing

A Sioux Valley Dakota Nation woman who fatally stabbed her partner in the neck was sentenced to more than seven years behind bars in Brandon Court of King’s Bench on Monday.

Corrie Hart, 31, pleaded not guilty to the charge of second-degree murder but guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter in the death of 64-year-old Ronald Bone.

The Crown and defence jointly recommended a sentence of seven and a half years, minus the time Hart has already spent in custody, which is the equivalent of roughly 34 months.

“We know that no sentence will ever appropriately or adequately reflect the harm occasioned on the family, but the loss of any family member — a son, a father, an uncle, a friend — is not something that any sentence can repair,” Crown attorney Sarah Kok said.

Kok read an agreed statement of facts.

Bone was last seen alive at his home in Sioux Valley on March 1, 2024.

The next day, Hart made two calls to 911. In one she reported that she had been assaulted by a different domestic partner who was in custody at the time, and in the other she reported “breaching someone.”

Kok said provincial 911 found that she made the calls within 14 metres and 12 metres of Bone’s residence, respectively.

Later that night, Virden RCMP went to Bone’s house, where Hart refused to answer the door. However, police saw her inside the house as they were leaving.

At the time, Hart was on a release order with a condition that she lived at her mother’s home in Sioux Valley. Police went there next, and Hart wasn’t present. They returned to the house two days later, but she wasn’t there.

On March 6, 2024, Virden RCMP responded to a suspicious death in Sioux Valley.

First Nations Safety Officers had been contacted to do a well-being check on Bone after his Lifeline machine had been offline for a few days.

One of the FNSOs found Bone in a bedroom, “lying on his front on the bed, covered with a blanket,” Kok said. She added that there was blood splatter on the wall and no evidence of forced entry.

“The blood splatter … contained more than 100 splatter stains of the deceased’s DNA,” she said.

There were blood stains on the bed, the floor and several nearby items.

An autopsy showed Bone had incise wounds to his left shoulder and multiple abrasions and contusions to both arms.

His cause of death was determined to be a 1.6-centimetre-long and nine-centimetre-deep stab wound to the back of the neck, which severed the left internal carotid artery and the jugular vein.

Kok said Bone lived by himself, but Hart was known to stay there.

The Crown said there were two knives found in the residence with Bone’s and Hart’s DNA on them.

Police found a shirt in the washing machine and clothing in a garbage bin, which all had Bone’s blood and Hart’s DNA on them.

RCMP Major Crimes interviewed several witnesses, who said Hart had been staying with Bone until March 2, 2024, before she went to Waywayseecappo.

Police arrested Hart on March 21, 2024, and she has remained in custody since then.

An analysis of Hart’s phone showed she had last connected to the Wi-Fi network of the victim’s residence on the evening of March 2, 2024.

“Miss Hart accepts that she inflicted a single stab wound to Ronald Bone at the back of his neck that severed the carotid artery and the jugular vein that caused his death.”

Kok said there were “frailties” in the Crown’s case, which resulted in the joint recommendation.

“There were no witnesses. We were relying partially on cell tower evidence that Miss Hart was still connected to the Wi-Fi network of Mr. Bone’s residence and had made 911 calls from within his residence in the time frame that we’ve described.”

Kok said while Hart’s DNA was found on the knives, she was living there at the time, and her DNA would likely be on items in the house.

Kok said Hart’s guilty plea is extremely mitigating.

Some other mitigating factors included her relatively unrelated criminal record, her relative level of co-operation with authorities and the remorse she’s expressed by pleading guilty.

The fact that they were in a domestic relationship, that a knife was used and the vulnerable location of the stab wound are all aggravating factors, Kok said.

Defence lawyer Laura Robinson said taking responsibility for her actions and bringing closure to this matter was important to Hart.

She emphasized that there were a lot of “unknowns” in the case, and Hart could have taken it to trial, where there “was a potential avenue to acquittal.”

“She comes before the court not offering excuses. She doesn’t have a clear memory of events due to her drug use and her addictions, but she accepts that her actions caused the death of Ronald Bone,” Robinson said.

Robinson said Hart lacked stability growing up, moving between different communities and at times into the child welfare system.

She was exposed to substances, alcohol and violence growing up, court heard. She turned to substances to deal with her trauma, Robinson said.

This has been Hart’s first lengthy stay in custody, Robinson said, and it made her realize the changes she needed to make.

During her time in custody, Hart has completed her high school education and several programs.

“Miss Hart is an individual who’s demonstrated that she’s willing to engage with the programming and try to put herself on better footing going forward, and she recognizes for herself that she’s only made some progress, and there’s more progress to be made.”

When given a chance to speak, Hart apologized to Bone’s family and friends.

“There will never be enough words or sorries to make up for what’s happened. All I know is that I apologize from the bottom of my heart,” she said through sobs. “I feel remorse every day.”

Hart said she didn’t expect to be forgiven but hoped that Bone’s family and friends would find comfort and peace.

Justice Elliot Leven went along with the joint recommendation.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com