Senior who killed fellow nursing home resident sentenced to life in prison

TORONTO — A Toronto senior who used his cane to kill a fellow long-term care home resident more than three years ago has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years.

Peter Brooks, 76, was found guilty last month of second-degree murder in the death of 72-year-old Jocelyn Dickson.

He was also charged with the attempted murder of another fellow resident, 91-year-old Lourdes Missier, but was found not guilty on that charge.

Homicide Det. Sgt. Wayne Banks called the sentencing a “just decision.”

The judge in her decision “basically said that Mr. Brooks was a dangerous person to society a the time of the offence, he’s a dangerous person to society now,” Banks told a news conference.

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“We can’t predict what the future will be but that will be up to the parole board to decide in 10 years’ time,” he said.

Brooks testified that a spirit in a dream had told him to “beat the crap” out of the two women and insisted he didn’t actually intend to harm anyone.

His trial heard that late one night in March 2013, Brooks used his cane to attack Dickson and Missier in their beds at the Wexford Residence in Toronto’s east end.

Brooks’ defence lawyer had urged jurors to find the elderly man not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder, arguing that Brooks has dementia and was unable to appreciate the nature of his actions.

But the Crown argued Brooks was not delusional and knew his actions were not only legally wrong, but morally wrong as well.

(CP24)

The Canadian Press