A Hamilton judge heard arguments Tuesday on how long Tommy Hoang’s former girlfriend should spend behind bars. She’s one of four people who pled guilty in Hoang’s brutal death and torturing.
Madeline Peternel was convicted of manslaughter and while both the Crown and Defence agree she did not cause direct physical harm to Hoang, the Crown says she did
call him to her apartment with a plan to rob him, and that’s where three other people brutally beat and killed him.
The court heard it was the night of Feb. 10, 2021, when 30-year-old Tommy Hoang was brutally beat and tortured in an east Hamilton apartment.
Hoang died in hospital around two weeks later, after life support was withdrawn. Blood loss was determined to be the cause of death, stemming from numerous injuries — including a fractured skull, slashes to his neck, and stab wounds on his arms and legs.
Peternel pleaded guilty to manslaughter in his death, along with Daniel Holland and Robyn Cove. Jason Long pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
The Crown argued Tuesday that without Peternel, Hoang and the three other men would never have met.
The court heard how Peternel was the one who called hoang to her apartment around 10:30 that night, saying she wanted to buy steroids from him.
“If it were not for Miss Peternel bringing Tommy to her apartment, knowing he would be robbed, he would still be alive,” the Crown said.
The Crown said there was evidence he had been tortured — with wounds on his nail beds and several bloody weapons found in the apartment, including a potato peeler.
READ MORE: Superior court judge to sentence 4 people in ‘torture killing’ of Tommy Hoang
Peternel is not accused of physically injuring Hoang.
A neighbour reportedly heard her yell “stop it, stop it, you’re going to kill him.”
But the Crown suggested that even as she knew how serious the violence got, Peternel still went through with the group’s plan to steal Hoang’s car and rob his house, while his family was asleep upstairs.
“It was stark and horrifying and based on simple greed,” the Crown said.
The Crown is asking for 10 years behind bars, with credit for time served.
The Defence, on the other hand, is asking for five years — describing her “real, genuine and palpable remorse.”
Peternel is a first-time offender – and Defence lawyer, Michael Hayworth, argued that she’s not likely to re-offend.
And while she participated in the plan, she didn’t come up with it, saying “she is not in control of the situation. She’s being pulled, she’s saying stop. She’s not in any way a leader.”
The sentencing hearing continues Wednesday, when the judge is expected to hear arguments from the accused Jason Long, who pled guilty to second-degree murder in this case.