'All you had to do was call 911,' Styres family tells Peter Khill at sentencing hearing

Trying to hold back tears and emotion, Lindsay Hill told a Hamilton courtroom about the moment she broke the news to her two young daughters someone shot and killed their father, Jon Styres.

"To tell them daddy is dead is excruciating and still breaks my heart," Hill said on Wednesday.

"Hearing my daughter say when she was four she wanted to die so she could go see daddy is terrible."

Those words, part of a victim impact statement, had many people in the courtroom breaking into tears, including Peter Khill, the man who killed Styresin 2016 and was found guilty of manslaughter in December. The offense has a minimum sentence of four years when carried out with a weapon.

Styres's family and Khill's family gathered at the John Sopkina Courthouse to hear arguments about how much time Khill should serve, as well as hear statements from Styres' family and Khill himself.

It comesmore than seven years after Khill fired a shotgun at Styres twice under the cover of near pitch black darkness while Styres was trying to steal Khill's truck out of his driveway in rural Hamilton.

'All you had to do was call 911... and we wouldn't be here today'

Khill, a former reservist, previously said sounds woke him up in the middle of the night, prompting him to grab his shotgun, load it, investigate what he heard and detain whoever was outside.

It led him to Styres, who was within three-and-a-half metres and was leaning over the passenger seat of the truck, not sensing Khill's presence.

Khill said when he saw Styres's silhouette, he immediately yelled, "Hey, hands up!"

After seeing Styres's hands come together and move above waist height, Khill said he fired two shots, thinking Styres was armed.

"All you had to do was call 911 and we wouldn't be here today," said Vicky Martin, a Styres family member who offered a victim impact statement.

By the time 911 was called, Styres was bleeding out and the court heard Khill was doing chest compressions, trying to keep him alive.

LISTEN | Peter Khill talks to dispatcher after shooting Jon Styres:

Peter Khill talks to 911 dispatcher after shooting and killing Jon Styres

2 years ago

Duration 1:30

The jury heard a 911 call made shortly after Peter Khill shot Jon Styres. Khill is on trial for second-degree murder.

"Your actions are those of someone who acted as judge, jury and executioner," Hill said.

"Your children will still have a parent while mine will never have a dad."

Mark Hill, chief of Six Nations of the Grand River, also shared a community impact statement because Styres was from Six Nations.

He said justice wasn't achieved with the ruling and it "means Indigenous lives are meaningless."

During the various impact statements, Styres's family members sobbed.

Khill, wearing a dark grey suit, appeared to stare straight at the speakers.

He could be seen wiping his eyes, taking deep breaths and pinching the bridge of his nose.

'I am forever sorry'

Assistant Crown prosecutor Sean Doherty said Khill "ambushed" Styres.

They also say after the first shot, Styres fell to his hands and knees before Khill pulled the trigger one more time.

Both are claims Khill and his defence lawyer, Jeffrey Manishen, deny.

Manishen said Wednesday what Khill did was closer to "near self-defence than it was near murder."

He also pointed to how a jury acquitted Khill in 2018 during the first trial, before Khill had to face another trial because of an appeal.

Manishen presented the court with 57 character references in support of Khill, which Ontario Superior Court Justice Andrew Goodman said was the most he's ever seen in a case.

Manishen said Khill had a right to protect his property, Khill was a first-time offender and was 26 at the time of the killing, and how he hasn't caused any problems since the shooting.

Khill also spoke for himself, describing how he and his family have been under constant threat since the shooting.

He also addressed Styres's family.

"There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about Jon and his family," he said.

"Nobody wanted this tragic event to happen. If I could change the outcome, I would know I am forever sorry."

Doherty said Khill should serve 10 years behind bars.

Manishen said Khill should serve four years the minimum sentence.

Khill returns to court on June 6 to hear his fate.