Migrant worker sentenced for killing man in Wilmot Township
Alex Lopez-Noriega was sentenced to more than eight years in prison on Tuesday, for the killing of a fellow migrant worker at a Wilmot Township farm in 2020.
An agreed statement of facts said Lopez-Noriega and his co-worker Luis Gabriel Cahuec Morán were drinking together on July 28, 2020, when a fight broke out. Surveillance video from the farm shows Lopez-Noriega following Cahuec Morán into a cornfield around 8:54 p.m. The video does not show anyone leaving the cornfield where Cahuec Morán was found dead early the next morning.
Last November, Lopez-Noriega pleaded guilty to manslaughter. On Tuesday, Justice Karey Katzsch handed Lopez-Noriega an eight-and-a-half-year sentence, which, when factoring in credit for time served, means he’ll spend six more years behind bars.
The crown was seeking a 10-year sentence, while the defence asked for six years.
"I would've liked a slightly lower sentence, but the judge effectively split the difference and came down the middle," said defence attorney Liam O'Connor, who claimed his client has been extremely remorseful since the incident. "He has always wanted to repay society and repay his debt, and I think this is a just result at the end."
O'Connor said the systemic challenges that migrant workers face should have been factored into the decision.
"Look, we as Canadians can't understand what it's like to come from another country and try to live here and have to send money back, it's a great hardship," O'Connor said. "At the end of the day, a terrible tragedy for both parties. One man will never go home to his children and one man will be away from his children for years."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Police inaction allowed Texas massacre to continue with catastrophic consequences: experts
The decision by police to wait before confronting the gunman at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde was a failure with catastrophic consequences, experts say. When it was all over 19 students and two teachers were dead.

Indigenous B.C. filmmaker says he was refused entry on Cannes red carpet for his moccasins
A Dene filmmaker based in Vancouver says he was "disappointed" and "close to tears" when security at the Cannes Film Festival blocked him from walking the red carpet while dressed in a pair of moccasins.
'Absurd' to criticize feds for possible challenge of provincial laws, says Lametti
Justice Minister David Lametti is defending the federal government's authority to challenge provincial laws that they believe infringe on the rights of Canadians, after Quebec said Ottawa's reaction to Bills 21 and 96 lacked 'respect.'
Plane with 22 people on board missing in Nepal's mountains
A small airplane with 22 people on board flying on a popular tourist route was missing in Nepal's mountains on Sunday, an official said.
'What happened to Chelsea?' Vancouver march demands answers in Indigenous woman's death
Around a hundred people gathered at noon Saturday at the empty Vancouver home where Chelsea Poorman’s remains were found late last month to show their support for her family's call for answers and justice.
Canada to play for gold at men's hockey worlds after victory over Czechia
Canada and Finland won semifinal games Saturday to set up a third straight gold-medal showdown between the teams at the IIHF world hockey championship.
Tear gas fired at Liverpool fans in Champions League final policing chaos
Riot police fired tear gas and pepper spray at Liverpool supporters forced to endure lengthy waits to get into the Champions League final amid logistical chaos and an attempt by UEFA and French authorities to blame overcrowding at turnstiles on people trying to access the stadium with fake tickets on Saturday.
48K without power one week after deadly storm swept through Ontario, Quebec
One week after a severe wind and thunderstorm swept through Ontario and Quebec, just over 48,000 homes in the two provinces were still without power on Saturday.
Explainer: Where do hydro poles come from?
The devastating storm in southern Ontario and Quebec last weekend damaged thousands of hydro poles across the two provinces. CTVNews.ca gives a rundown of where utility companies get their hydro poles from, as well as the climate challenges in the grid infrastructure.