Son sentenced in mom’s slaying; family wishes him ‘a better life’

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This article was published 15/09/2022 (734 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Family members still grieving the slaying of a 35-year-old St. Theresa Point woman told a judge her killer — her son — remains loved and prayed he will “get the help he needs” in prison.

Kelton Wood, 20, pleaded guilty earlier this year to second-degree murder in the bludgeoning death of his mother Charlotte. He was sentenced last month in St. Theresa Point to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years, the minimum period allowed by law.

“We will always love him and wish him a better life and a journey of healing,” Charlotte’s sister, Karen Taylor, told court in a victim impact statement. “We want our nephew to receive the medical and mental health (support) he deserves and that he improves himself.”

Charlotte died Sept. 24, 2020, as the result of blunt force trauma to the head. She was stabbed 70 times all over her body and had several burn injuries to her arm, back and thigh.

According to an agreed statement of facts read out in court, band constables arrived at the St. Theresa Point home, shared by Kelton and his mother, around 7 a.m. after an anonymous caller reported there were “copious amounts of blood” in the house.

Wood, wearing a T-shirt and runners stained with wet blood, started crying and tried to close the door when a constable and three co-workers entered the house. Once inside, they found Charlotte face down on the kitchen floor, with a blood-stained shovel and dumbbell near her body.

After being taken into custody, Kelton gave a full confession to RCMP, saying the killing was sparked by a discussion about access issues involving his child.

“Kelton tried to confide in his mother… and told her that she should know what it feels like not being able to see her kids,” said Crown attorney Matthew Dueck, reading from the agreed statement of facts. “Charlotte got upset at Kelton and began yelling at him, blaming him for everything, and telling him she wished he were dead.”

Kelton said “something inside him snapped” and he attacked his mother. He knocked her to the floor and choked her, and then hit her with a shovel three times. Kelton told police he had also cut her and put hot knives on her stomach, but could not remember doing it or why.

Charlotte suffered extensive fractures to her skull and facial bones. Dental comparison was required to positively identify her.

“There is no other term but horrific for the event that occurred,” Dueck told Justice Sheldon Lanchberry.

The sentencing hearing marked the first time a Court of Queen’s (now King’s) Bench proceeding was held in the First Nation, approximately 600 km northeast of Winnipeg and took place at the community’s invitation. Approximately 20 family and community members filled the small courtroom, while another 20 gathered outside, listening to the hearing through a speaker.

Court was told Kelton and Charlotte had a “complex history” blighted by substance abuse and neglect and a dearth of support services.

According to a pre-sentence report provided to court, Kelton said his mother often beat him or threw him out of the house. When Kelton was an adolescent, his mother introduced him to drugs.

Kelton was placed in care when he was 12, but was left homeless when he turned 18, court heard.

“He literally was left on his own with no home and no means of supporting himself,” said defence lawyer Gerri Wiebe. “So, he had to go back to (his mother’s) home where the abuse happened.”

At the time of the killing, Kelton was estranged from his girlfriend and had lost access to his young daughter.

Taylor said family members tried to help Kelton in his struggles, but with limited community resources “there was only so much we could do for him.”

Kelton apologized to his family and said there was no justification for his “horrific” actions.

“Sure, she used to abuse me, neglect me, but that doesn’t call for taking a life,” he said. “I took away something that can’t be replaced… That was my mom, and I miss her every day.”

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca