“Stubbs did this.”
That dying declaration by Ron Brennan pointed the finger at Steven Martel, who was known by his nickname "Stubbs" among Barrie’s seedy underbelly.
On Thursday, Superior Court Madame Justice Michelle Fuerst accepted a joint submission from the Crown and Martel’s lawyer, Laurie Galway, that he be sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter.
Brennan’s last words in a downtown Barrie breakfast diner also helped absolve Martel’s co-accused, Jordan Szyperski, in the fatal 2023 Family Day weekend stabbing of the 47-year-old Barrie man, who also went by the surname Peterson.
With credit for the almost two years he has already served, Martel, 35, has a little more than four years left on his sentence when enhanced measures for pre-trial custody are factored in.
Szyperski was arrested less than 24 hours after Brennan’s death, while Martel was taken into custody a few days later after Barrie police found him holed up in an east-end residence.
The incident that saw Brennan, a father and grandfather, die from a single stab wound was nothing more than a petty drug dispute, court heard. Martel was a small-time dealer who had accused Brennan of spilling Martel’s stash in front of a Collier Street church.
Most of the incident was caught on various closed-circuit cameras that were recording downtown at the time.
“A stupid drug deal,” lamented Brennan’s mother, Lucy Peterson, in her victim impact statement that was read into the record.
Crown attorney Mike Flosman echoed a similar refrain.
“So pointless it defies rational thought,” he said in his sentencing submissions.
After being stabbed, Brennan fled the scene with both Martel and Szyperski in close pursuit. Brennan made his way toward Dunlop Street, where he stumbled into the diner, whose staff tried to help him before paramedics arrived.
But it was too late. Brennan died later that morning in hospital, but not before identifying Martel.
“My heart sank,” Careena Schneider, Brennan’s daughter, told the court, of arriving with other family at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre and being told that her father was gone.
Both Martel and Szyperski were originally charged with second-degree murder.
The 34-year-old Szyperski, who is originally from Parry Sound, walked out of court a free man.
As he left, Szyperski tried to shake Martel’s hand in the prisoner’s dock. Court security staff prevented him from doing so and he was eventually taken out through the downstairs cells to avoid contact with Brennan’s family.
Szyperski declined a request for comment by BarrieToday.
“My client is happy (to be free), but is also somewhat frustrated with the system that it took so long,” said Szyperski’s lawyer, Richard Stern, pointing out that withdrawing the charge was the only logical option and should have occurred much earlier.
Whatever Brennan’s problems in life, he was deeply loved by his family, five of whom were in court Thursday for the sentencing and to issue victim impact statements.
“I’m a total daddy’s girl, still am,” Schneider told the court during her emotional victim impact statement.
“I looked up to my dad until he was taken from us, and I still do today,” she added.
Brennan had another child, Carter, who has special needs and was not in court Thursday, but his victim impact statement was read into the record by Flosman.
Brennan’s family said his commitment to his son and all that was required to care for him was perhaps his single most enduring quality as a father.
“Ron protected all of us, no one protected him,” said his mother.
Given the opportunity to address the court, in a soft, clear voice, Martel turned to Brennan’s family and apologized.
“I (won’t) make excuses,” Martel said from the prisoner’s dock. “... I didn’t mean to cause this tragedy. Whether you accept my (apology) or not, I’m sorry.”
The court heard Martel is a schizophrenic, a condition inherited from his addict mother, but was off his medication at the time of Brennan’s killing.
Originally from Sudbury, he only came to Barrie after being dropped in town after serving a sentence in Penetanguishene. He soon became immersed in the local homeless community and drug culture.
The killing of Brennan was the most serious of a long list of criminal convictions on Martel’s record.
In her submissions on Thursday, Galway pointed out that Martel is now regularly medicated and is on the verge of earning his high school diploma.
Brought up with significant help of the Children’s Aid Society, Galway struck a positive tone in her submissions on Thursday regarding her client's potential after he is released.
“His is not a case of hopelessness,” she told the court.