Timeline of dates in the case of Dustin Paxton who tortured, abused roommate

CALGARY – The Alberta Court of Appeal has rejected an appeal by Dustin Paxton, who was found guilty in 2012 of torturing and starving his former roommate. Paxton, 36, was convicted of sexual and aggravated assault. The victim, who cannot be identified, was dropped off at a Regina hospital in 2010 near death.

Here are some key dates in the case:

2008: Dustin Paxton and the victim move in together in Calgary with plans to start a moving company to take advantage of a booming energy economy.

Oct. 31, 2008: The victim receives the first of almost daily beatings and chokings from Paxton.

September 2009: The victim is admitted to hospital with a crushed eye socket. He says a refrigerator fell on him at work. X-rays show multiple broken ribs, breaks in his vertebrae and lacerations to his spleen, liver and small intestine.

February 2010: The victim’s family stops hearing from him.

March 2010: Paxton and the victim move from Calgary to Regina and rent an apartment. A man living below the suite says he regularly hears disturbing sounds coming from there.

April 12, 2010: Missing person’s report is filed for the victim in Calgary.

April 16, 2010: The victim is dumped at a Regina hospital in critical condition. He weighs 87 pounds when he is admitted. His previous weight was 245 pounds.

Aug. 25, 2010: Dustin Paxton is arrested by police in Edmonton.

Aug. 27, 2010: Paxton makes his first court appearance in Calgary by a video link. He appears confused and agitated and says he doesn’t understand the charges against him. “I want a lawyer,” Paxton tells the court.

Nov. 1, 2010: Paxton deemed fit to stand trial after being examined by a court psychiatrist.

Sept. 27, 2011: Trial begins. Crown calls 43 witnesses in the trial which took 4 1/2 months.

Oct. 31, 2011: Victim testifies from behind a screen so that Paxton won’t be able to see him. He says he didn’t leave because he didn’t want to be seen as a “sissy.” He also says he did whatever Paxton told him to do. “Only because I didn’t want to get beat,” he says. “He was getting more and more violent every day.”

Feb. 6, 2012: Justice Sheilah Martin finds Paxton guilty of sexual and aggravated assault.

Oct. 16, 2013: The victim testifies at Paxton’s dangerous offender hearing. He tells court: “I don’t want to live the rest of my life in fear, too. I want to make sure that nobody else ever has to suffer like me.”

Dec. 19, 2013: Paxton is found to be a dangerous offender and given an indeterminate jail sentence. Paxton addresses the court but doesn’t apologize. “I’m working with these experts who are working to make me a better person,” he says. “I will remain fully committed to a regime of counselling and programming that is essential to my rehabilitation.”

Jan. 2, 2014: Lawyers file appeal of Paxton’s sentence and conviction. They argue the trial judge made errors, showed bias and shouldn’t have excluded a defence expert who found the victim’s testimony unreliable.

Oct. 12, 2016: Alberta Court of Appeal hears appeal of Paxton’s conviction.

Nov. 16, 2016: Appeal Court rejects Paxton’s appeal and upholds convictions on sexual and aggravated assault.