Man who fatally beat Don Jail inmate for eating his chips to be sentenced April 13
Posted April 5, 2012 9:03 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A man who admitted to stomping a fellow inmate to death in the Toronto Don Jail because he stole his bag of chips will be sentenced on April 13.
Troy Campbell, 27, pleaded guilty earlier this week to the second degree murder of Jeff Munro, 32. It happened in November 2009.
Campbell admitted that he assaulted Munro numerous times as he lay in the bed of his cell, repeatedly stomping on his head after learning that Munro stole his half eaten bag of chips.
The crime carries an automatic life sentence.
At a hearing Thursday the Defence asked that he be eligible for parole in 10 years – the minimum required.
The Crown wants no parole for 13 years.
“We are asking the judge to impose the minimum parole (of) 10 years,” said defence lawyer Tyler Smith. “…clearly this is a tragic case for everyone involved, but Mr. Campbell suffers from a significant mental illness and he pleaded guilty to the offence so he essentially spared the family and the Crown and the courts the burden of going through a trial.”
Campbell suffers from schizophrenia, but a judge dismissed his mental illness as a factor in the case.
Munro also suffered from mental illness. The former dancer’s mental health declined after he developed a drug addiction, his parents revealed.
Campbell apologized for killing Munro, saying, “The Don Jail is a crazy place…there’s lots of fights there…sorry for the grief I brought to the family…I can’t bring him back…he’s in a better place now, in the afterlife.”
Munro’s devastated family described Jeff as a “gentle soul” who worked as a dancer on cruise ships before being derailed by addiction.
Munro was in custody for committing an indecent act and failing to comply with probation. Campbell was locked up for robbery and aggravated assault.
“Jeff was special and gifted…he was happy, caring and loving,” his father Ray Munro told the court. “He wouldn’t hurt anyone. His friends called him the butterfly because of his gentle and caring ways.”
