No visible reaction from 29-year-old Fred Cormier Junior as he was sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility after 10 years after being found guilty of second degree murder in the stabbing death of 23-year-old Spencer Eldridge on Lancaster Street last May.
At the sentencing hearing, Mr. Justice Ray French laying out the details of the presentence report which states that Cormier and Eldridge knew one another “through the drug culture in Saint John” and that their relationship soured over a woman and money that Eldridge apparently owed Cormier. Cormier has said that he’s sorry and French says in his view Cormier’s remorse is genuine.
Pointing to the victim impact statements which were read on Monday, Mr. Justice Ray French says Eldridge was not the only victim of this crime.
A second degree murder conviction carries an automatic life sentence however parole eligibility can be set anywhere between 10 and 25 years. The prosecution was looking for 11 to 12 years until Cormier was eligible for parole while the defense was seeking 10 years.
