Damian Hawley plead guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 12 years for the murder of his mother.
In June 2014, Hawley went to his 85-year-old Gertrude Hawley's house on Reedmere Ave. and bludgeoned her in the head with a hammer.
Damian Hawley was charged with first degree murder but both sides agreed to the lower plea in order to avoid trial. In his sentence the judge said the crime was financially motivated but defence lawyer Frank Miller says the true motive will never be known because Hawley was clearly lacking logical thought at the time.
"You don't go and do that kind of thing and then tell someone who's there to go get her wallet so you can go to the bank. That's irrational, that is someone who is thinking about money but is completely irrational in terms of what he's doing," says Miller.
Grandaughter to Gertrude Hawley, Kaitlyn Hawley says she is glad its over but unhappy with the ultimate sentence.
"It should have been first degree," says Kaitlyn Hawley. "He's playing the victim, he said he didn't know what happened but he knew exactly what he was there for that night."
Assistant Crown Attorney Craig Houle says just because he is eligible for parole after 12 years does not mean he will be granted it.
"It's not 12 years, it's a life sentence, he's been sentenced to life in prison," says Houle.
As part of his sentence Hawley is banned from contacting his two children, and cannot possess any weapons.
