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Manslaughter plea ends trial

BY MICHAEL JAMES The Daniel Beaulne murder trial took a surprise turn Friday when the accused changed his plea from not guilty of second degree murder to guilty of manslaughter.
BY MICHAEL JAMES

The Daniel Beaulne murder trial took a surprise turn Friday when the accused changed his plea from not guilty of second degree murder to guilty of manslaughter.

When court convened at 10 am, Justice John Poupore told the jury he had been approached by both Crown and defence counsel minutes earlier with a joint resolution. He excused the jury until noon.

When court reconvened, it was without the jury.

Defence counsel Richard Huneault told Poupore his client wished to change his plea and have his case decided by judge alone. Poupore accepted the manslaughter plea and heard closing submissions from defence counsel and the Crown before passing sentence. Poupore imposed the 10-year maximum sentence for manslaughter, less three years for time served, meaning Beaulne was sentenced to serve seven more years in a federal penitentiary.

It was revealed Beaulne will have to serve at least two-thirds of his remaining seven-year sentence before being considered for parole.

Poupore ordered Beaulne submit a DNA sample for a national crime data bank and prohibited him from possessing firearms for 10 years.

Â?I agree with the Crown that the plea to the lesser charge of manslaughter is appropriate under all the given circumstances,Â? Poupore said.

Huneault asked Poupore to consider a number of mitigating circumstances that spoke to BeaulneÂ?s reduced mental capacity at the time he killed his wife, Huneault told the court Beaulne, 35, had been in a very serious automobile accident in March of 2001, in which he sustained a number of incapacitating injuries that left him in constant pain, rendered him unable to work, and, consequently, led to acute depression.

Â?Mr. Beaulne was not the same person he was before (the accident),Â? Huneault said. Â?He lost an inordinate amount of weight, experienced sexual difficulties, and he was unable to sleep. He was treated for depression, and even though it was acknowledged his depression was severe, the doctor who treated him felt he could be released from hospital.Â?

ThereÂ?s every reason to believe BeaulneÂ?s mental illness is in full remission, he said.

Huneault said there has been vast improvement in BeaulneÂ?s mental state since he first took on the case.

Â?There is evidence Mr. Beaulne had a genuine mental illness at the time he killed his wife,Â? he said.

Crown prosecutor Diana Fuller made an impassioned speech, recounting how Sheryl Beaulne was struck down in the prime of her young life.

Â?Sheryl wanted more from life,Â? Fuller said, Â?and she was on her way to getting itÂ?she even went back to school to upgrade.Â?

Fuller said the accused must take criminal responsibility for his act.

Â?In accepting this plea, the Crown is acknowledging the accused had a mental illness at the time he killed his wife,Â? she said. Â?It was a mitigating factorÂ?though we are not relieving him of responsibility for stabbing his wife.Â?

Fuller said Beaulne had a possessive nature long before his car accident.

Poupore said domestic violence has become far too prevalent in todayÂ?s society, and the courts must deal with it in a very serious manner.