BATTLEFORD - A North Battleford man, who previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of his mother, was sentenced to seven years in prison in court on Dec. 20.
The original charge of second-degree murder in the case was withdrawn by the Crown.
Walter Geering, 48, appeared in shackles for the sentencing decision at the Court of King's Bench in Battleford.
According to the previous RCMP report, police responded after receiving a report on June 22, 2022, of an injured individual at a home on 93 Street in North Battleford. Officers and paramedics found a woman who was declared deceased. She has since been identified as 72-year-old Beatrice Geering from North Battleford. Saskatchewan RCMP Major Crime Unit confirmed the victim is the mother of the accused.
The court heard that in making his submissions, Crown prosecutor Brynn Achtymichuk recommended an eight-year prison sentence, while Defence lawyer Jonathan Bodvarson instead suggested a sentence of five years.
In the end, Justice D. E. Labach sentenced Geering to seven years in prison. Less enhanced credit for time served, he has 1,185 days or 3.2 years left to serve.
Geering must also provide a DNA sample and must abide by a firearms prohibition for 10 years and is banned from possessing prohibited firearms for life.
Geering had been in custody at the Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford where he has been receiving treatment for his mental illness. Now he will be moved to a federal penitentiary where he will still continue to receive treatment while he serves his sentence.
Labach said Geering will still receive the mental health support he needs.
The court heard that at the time when Geering attacked his mother, causing her death, he struck her with the butt-end of a rifle while in a rage, when she was trying to encourage him to get some help for his increasing mental illness.
The judge said Geering had reduced moral blameworthiness due to his mental state at the time, but the sentence is not in the range of what the Defence counsel recommended.
Labach said that Geering lost his temper because of his mental illness when he hit his mother.
"The death of Beatrice Geering was not a near accident, neither was it a near murder," the judge said, adding that Walter Geering was blind to the fact that he was impacted by mental illness at the time he struck his mother.
As aggravating factors, Geering killed his mother as she tried to encourage him to address his mental health issues, the judge pointed out, and he also used a weapon in the attack.
As mitigating factors, Geering pleaded guilty to manslaughter, the judge noted, and he suffered from mental illness at the time of the assault on his mother, so he had a "reduced culpability," Labach said.
"What Walter did to his mother was heartbreaking," said Labach. "The wounds will be difficult to heal. His actions had a devastating impact on his mother and his family."
