TORONTO — An Ontario father who lost his temper and hit his toddler so hard the child died of his injuries has been sentenced to ten years in prison in a case a judge called "tragic from every angle."
Mario Wint pleaded guilty to manslaughter in April after originally being charged with second-degree murder in the January 2015 death of his two-year-old son, Ty.
"The killing of Ty Wint is tragic from every angle and I suspect will confound us all as we try to reconcile the emotion it inspires," said Justice Nyron Dwyer as he delivered Wint's sentence in a Newmarket, Ont., courtroom.
"The offence in this case is serious and strikes at the trust we as a community place in parents to care for their children."
Crown and defence lawyers had jointly suggested a ten-year prison sentence for Wint, but the Crown also requested a delay in parole eligibility for the 30-year-old to one half of his sentence, rather than one third.
Dwyer, however, did not see the need for delayed parole eligibility. He also gave Wint a two-year credit for time already spent in custody, leaving the man with eight years left in his sentence.
On the morning of January 22, 2015, Wint lost his temper and hit Ty more than once in the abdomen "with significant force," causing devastating internal injuries that subsequently caused the child's death, according to an agreed statement of facts submitted in the case.
"After striking Ty, Mario Wint knew that he had caused serious injury to his son. He delayed calling 911 for several hours out of fear that what he had done would be discovered," the statement of facts said. "After he was struck by his father, Ty was bleeding extensively internally, and had a rapidly declining level of consciousness. His dire medical state became obvious."
Court heard that after hitting Ty, Wint refused to take his son to a medical clinic at the suggestion of his own mother, who noticed her grandson looking unwell during a late-morning visit to her home. When he called 911, hours later at his own home, first responders found the boy with no vital signs.
"Mario Wint lied to the 911 operator and emergency responders about what had happened to his son in an effort to protect himself," the agreed statement of facts said. "This impacted the medical care provided for Ty."
An autopsy revealed "extensive" blunt force injuries to Ty's chest and abdomen, severe internal bleeding and bruises on the boy's head as well, court heard.
The "horrific" nature of Ty's injuries, the position of trust held by Wint as the child's father, the lies he told to protect himself and the delay by Wint in seeking medical intervention for the boy were all seen as aggravating factors in the case, Dwyer said.
Wint's guilty plea at a relatively early stage in the legal process, however, was a major mitigating factor, the judge said.
Wint's lawyer said his client is "tremendously remorseful."
"No jail sentence can impose the most severe punishment that Mario Wint will take from this matter, which is that he inflicted the injury that killed his two-year-old son. He will have to wear that for the rest of his life," Steven Skurka.
"He regrets what he did, indicated by his plea of guilty for the charge of manslaughter."
