A Sudbury man found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder in a 2021 arson triple homicide will not face sentencing until August.
Liam Stinson is in Sudbury District jail awaiting sentencing in the deaths of Guy “Popcorn” Henri, Jasmine Somers and Stinson’s estranged partner, Jamie-Lynn Rose. Stinson was also found guilty of arson causing bodily harm against David Cheff, who was forced to jump from a second-story window to escape the blaze.
Stinson’s attorney, Liam Thompson (appearing on behalf of Joseph Wilkinson) appeared virtually in Sudbury assignment court to set a date for his sentencing, but while Thompson believed it would only take one day of court time, Sudbury Crown attorney Kara Vakiparta thought more like two.
“I think we need a day and a half to two days. There are a lot of victim impact statements, because there were three deceased,” she told Superior Court Justice, R. Dan Cornell. “Then in terms of sentencing submissions on the arson causing bodily harm, it might take a little bit of time, and then your honour’s decision, as well as the directed verdict application, so our estimate is two days.”
Vacation scheduling for the attorneys involved, as well as Cornell, pushed back the dates, and to avoid any further delays, counsel and Cornell made the decision to bifurcate the dates (split them up) to make it easier to schedule.
Stinson will be in court Aug. 19 for the judge to hear sentencing submissions from both sides, as well as the victim-impact statements. Cornell will then consider the submissions and statements, returning with his sentencing decision on Nov. 1.
Stinson has been in custody since April 20, 2021.
Jenny Lamothe is a reporter at Sudbury.com.
