Family of Eduardo Balaquit wants harsh sentence for Winnipeg man found guilty of manslaughter
After hearing victim impact statements, judge reserves decision until December
The family of Eduardo Balaquit, 59, who went missing more than four years ago and is presumed dead, is calling on a Manitoba judge to sentence the man who was found guilty of manslaughter as harshly as possible.
Kyle Pietz, 37, was found guilty of manslaughter by a jury in May after pleading not guilty. He appeared before Court of King's Bench Justice Sadie Bond for his sentencing hearing in Winnipeg on Wednesday.
Balaquit's wife and two sons read victim impact statements in court, calling their loss a living nightmare, especially because his body was never found.
"You took away the most important person in my life," Iluminada Balaquit said in court to Pietz.
"I hope this person who did this to my husband will pay for the rest of his life."
Her son Edward, who has gotten married and had a child since his father's disappearance on June 4, 2018, called on Pietz to tell the court where his father's body is.
"Give my daughter finally a chance to say hello to my father, and for us, a chance to say goodbye," he said.
"Do one thing that's right. If not for my family, be the example for yours."
The Crown is seeking a sentence of at least 18 years behind bars before Pietz has a chance of parole, less time served.
Crown attorney Vanessa Gama said Pietz planned to rob Balaquit and that the victim was vulnerable because he was cleaning a warehouse building alone at night.
Pietz was prepared with zip ties and duct tape to physically restrain and hurt Balaquit to get his personal banking information, and purposefully hid Balaquit's body after he died, "deliberately inhibiting the police investigation," Gama said.
Pietz didn't have a criminal record before this crime, but the planning of the crime and concealing of Balaquit's body should be considered aggravating factors, she said.
Defence lawyer Brett Taylor is seeking eight to 10 years of prison time, saying the facts of the case are too limited to prove those aggravating factors.
"There was no body found, no autopsy done, no pathologist [report].… In this case, we don't have that sort of evidence," Taylor said.
The defence read a number of letters from Pietz's family that painted him as a loving partner and father of two girls, who struggled early in his life with alcoholism.
He was briefly homeless and lived in his car while he was battling his addiction.
Even so, court heart he was hard-working, giving, and cared a lot for his siblings.
Balaquit's son Edward said he doesn't think the defence's submission of eight to 10 years is a long enough sentence.
"Afterwards he's free to do whatever he wants and live his life again where my dad no longer has a life. And we have to live with that," Edward said outside of court.
Bond reserved her decision until December, which was a blow to the family who says the trial has been difficult.
"You just got to do this all over again. We got to hear it all over again. We're going to come back here. It's a never ending situation for us, unfortunately," Edward said outside of court.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
