Peter Khill sentenced to 8 years in prison for shooting death of Six Nations man Jon Styres

Peter Khill will serve eight years in federal prison for the killing of Six Nations man Jon Styres.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Andrew Goodman sentenced Khill on Tuesday in a packed Hamilton courtroom,seven years after he shot Styres in thedriveway of Khill's home.

One night in February 2016, Khill, then 26, woke up to noises outside. He grabbed his shotgun from his closet and ammunitionfrom his nightstand drawer and went outside. Hefound Styres breaking into this truck and fired two shots, killing the 29-year-oldfather of two.

Khillwas charged with second degree murder and pleaded not guilty, claiming he acted in self-defence.In December, a juryfound himguilty of manslaughter.

The mandatory minimum sentence of manslaughter with a firearm is four years imprisonment, which was requested by Khill's defence lawyer. The Crown requested 10 years behind bars.

The high-profile case attracted public interest as it bore similarities to the 2016 shooting death of Colton Boushie, a 22-year-old Cree man in Saskatchewan. A jury found the accused not guilty of second-degree murder.

Sentence to discourage 'brazen killing of intruders'

On Tuesday, Goodmantold the courtroom, filled with members ofStyres's and Khill's family, thatKhill should serve double the minimumbecause his actions were not an accident or necessary for self-defence.

The justice said Khillhad time to consider his response and could havecalled 911, butinstead "decided to arm himself and gain control," the justice said.

"It was indeed Peter who failed to avoid the final, fatal confrontation."

The sentence will also discourage other people from taking "the law into their own hands" and the "brazen killing of intruders," Goodman said.

He saidthe case is a "sorrowing tragedy," andhe took into consideration theutter devastation felt by Styres's death, both from his family but also the Six Nations community.

At the sentencing hearing, Styres's partner, Lindsay Hill, described telling their young daughters someone had shot and killed their father.

"To tell them daddy is dead is excruciating and still breaks my heart," Hill said. "Hearing my daughter say when she was four she wanted to die so she could go see daddy is terrible."

After Khill was sentenced on Tuesday, she spoke to reporters.

"There's a little comfort knowing [the sentence]it's going to be eight years," she said. "But it feels like a drop in the bucket."

Mark Hill, electedchief of Six Nations of the Grand River, said there's still a lot of healing to do in the Indigenous community, and this sentence was a start.

"What is it that can make a bigger positive impact not just to this specific case and the community of Six Nations, but in this country of Canada that has seen an extensive number of cases like these that have gone with families gettingno justice?"

An'atrocious' ordeal

Goodmansaid he alsotook into consideration "significant" mitigating factors presented by Khill's defence, including that he didn't have a criminal record and at a sentencing hearingexpressed remorse for taking Styres's life.

Khill also provided 57 character references from family, friends, co-workers and others in the community the most Goodman said he'd seen in his career.

The justiceread excerpts from statements, including from Khill's wife Melinda, who said they and their two daughtershave experienced harassment, defamation, financial ruin and heartbreak. Her husbandwiped away tears.

"This ordeal has been an atrocious stain on our existence," Melinda wrote.

This was Khill's third trial for the killing of Styres. In 2018, a jury acquitted theformer reservist, which the Crown appealed. The Supreme Court ordered a new trial in 2021 that began last November but ended in a mistrial.