A man who fatally stabbed his “unarmed, defenceless, vulnerable” wife in their Harbord Street apartment received an automatic life sentence Tuesday with no parole eligibility for a dozen years.
Hansel Duarte Quintela, 53, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last month for the “brutal killing” of Yoleidys Vilar Arroyo, 50, on May 21, 2023.聽
Superior Court Justice Maureen Forestell’s discretion lay with the term of parole ineligibility, which ranges from 10 up to 25 years. She agreed with prosecutors who recommended Quintela serve 12 years before becoming eligible to apply for parole. The defence suggested he wait 10 years.
“Denunciation and deterrence are paramount sentencing principles in all cases of violence against an intimate partner. Courts must strongly denounce all forms of intimate partner violence,” the judge said as Duarte Quintela listened through a Spanish interpreter, and a small group of Vilar Arroyo’s family and friends consoled each other in court. Their victim impact statements described Vilar Arroyo as a grandmother, mother, sister, and friend who was “full of life.”
The judge said it should be noted that her decision doesn’t mean he will be granted full parole after serving 12 years, it merely sets the time he is eligible to apply. As well, Duarte Quintela, who is not a Canadian citizen, could face deportation back to Cuba upon release.
According to the agreed statement of facts, after attending a barbecue with family members, the couple returned home to 397 Harbord Street and had an argument. Duarte Quintela stabbed his wife three times in the neck, back and chin. She also had cuts to her eye, cheek, face and hands, as well as blunt force injuries to her neck and back.
The next morning, he called 911 twice to report his wife was dead. When emergency personnel arrived, Duarte Quintela answered the door and walked over to a couch and picked up a large butcher knife and handed it over. The victim was lying in a pool of blood in the kitchen.
During the seven-year marriage, the victim told friends and family that he had physically abused her but police weren’t notified, according to the agreed facts. Her family and friends described his behaviour as jealous and controlling. Duarte Quintela denied the allegations of physical abuse. The Crown did not seek to prove those allegations, so the judge said she could not consider them as a factor in sentencing.
Court heard he came to Canada in 2010 after being sponsored by his previous wife. That marriage broke down in 2014 and his ex-wife has custody of a 12-year-old girl.
The judge noted that in 1999, the range of parole ineligibility for the murder of an intimate partner was 12 to 15 years, while, in recent years, that has edged up to 12 to 17 years.
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