A 20-year-old St. Theresa Point man was sentenced in August to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 10 years for killing his mother in 2020.
Kelton Wood’s sentencing hearing was the first Court of Queen’s Bench (now the Court of King’s Bench following the death of Queen Elizabeth II) proceeding held in St. Theresa Point and was attended by approximately 20 family and community members inside a small courtroom and about 20 more listening outside via a speaker, the Winnipeg Free Press reported Sept. 16.
Wood bludgeoned his mother Charlotte, 35, to death on Sept. 24, 2020 court heard, and also stabbed her and burnt her.
Band constables responded to an anonymous call about blood in the house and found Wood in a t-shirt and shoes stained with wet blood.
Kelton Wood confessed to RCMP, saying that he snapped after arguing with his mother about access issues involving his child
Kelton Wood, who had been abused and introduced to drugs by his mother, was placed in care when he was 12 but moved back in with her after turning 18 because he had nowhere else to live. Family members said during the hearing that they hoped he would receive the medical and mental health supports he needs in prison.
“We will always love him and wish him a better life and a journey of healing,” Charlotte’s sister Karen Taylor said in a victim impact statement.
Kelton Wood, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for his mother’s death earlier in 2022, apologized for his crime.
“Sure, she used to abuse me, neglect me but that doesn’t call for taking a life,” he said.
