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
Thunderstorms kill 4 in southern Ont., knock out power in parts of Que.
As the May long weekend kicked off, a massive thunderstorm in southern Ontario and Quebec brought strong wind gusts that knocked down trees, took out power and left at least four people dead.

Flu cases on the rise in Canada despite expected fall
The federal government is reporting a sharp rise in influenza in recent months, at a time of the year when detected cases generally start to fall in Canada.
Toronto investigating first suspected case of monkeypox
Health officials in Toronto say they are investigating the first suspected case of monkeypox in the city.
A 'relieved' Jason Kenney says he won't run in the UCP leadership race
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says he will not be running in the race to pick a new leader of the United Conservative party.
Putin's invasion of Ukraine an 'act of madness,' former U.K. PM Blair says
The United Kingdom's former prime minister Tony Blair says Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine is an 'act of madness.' In an interview on CTV's Question Period airing Sunday, Blair said Putin doesn't appear to be the same man he knew in the early 2000s.
Buffalo shooting victim laid to rest; city marks 1 week
Roberta Drury, a 32-year-old woman who was the youngest of the 10 Black people killed at a Buffalo supermarket, was remembered at her funeral Saturday for her love for family and friends, tenacity 'and most of all, that smile that could light up a room.'
The science behind why smoke seems to follow you around a campfire
Why does smoke seem to follow you around a campfire? B.C. research scientist Kerry Anderson told CTVNews.ca the answer actually boils down to physics.
Expert's tips on what to do if you're being carjacked amid rash of Toronto incidents
Some drivers in Toronto may be feeling on edge as Toronto is dealing with a rash of violent carjackings targeting mostly high-end vehicles.
A year of trauma, catharsis and finally peace for some survivors of Kamloops school
The nightmares started last May, said Harvey McLeod, chief of the Upper Nicola Indian Band and a survivor of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.