Latest news with #AdamWillett
CTV News
30-05-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Saskatoon woman receives 18-year sentence after killing former boyfriend
Ryah Sorenson, 23, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of 37-year-old Adam Willett before Justice Richard Danyliuk. (Source: Ever Loved) A Saskatoon woman who admitted to killing her former boyfriend has been handed an 18-year sentence. Ryah Sorenson, 23, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of 37-year-old Adam Willett before Justice Richard Danyliuk. During Sorenson's sentencing hearing on Friday, Crown prosecutor Michael Pilon read a statement of facts into the record. Court heard that Sorenson and Willett dated for about 10 months and had a tumultuous relationship at times. On the evening of December 2, 2022, the two were drinking alcohol together at Willett's apartment when Sorenson attacked him in his bedroom, stabbing him 21 times. He left a trail of blood through the apartment and eventually died on the couch. Sorenson kissed Willett on the forehead and lips, then covered him with a blanket, the court heard. She took some pills that were on the coffee table and attempted suicide. The pills were later determined to be vitamins. She began vomiting and called 911, saying she had done something bad. Police arrived shortly after. She told police she didn't plan to kill Willett but wouldn't explain why she did it. Willett's nine-year-old daughter submitted one of the 13 victim impact statements. A family member read the child's statement on her behalf. Willett's daughter spoke about how she would never be able to give him a Father's Day card and how he wouldn't be there for major life events, like her graduation or wedding. Willett's mother, Linda Krieg, spoke about the 'horrific' phone calls she made to Willett's loved ones, informing them of his death. His father, Bryan Willett, spoke about how he bonded with his son over their shared love of music. Bryan said February 3, 1959 – when three American rock and roll musicians died in a plane crash – is often referred to as 'The Day the Music Died.' 'I was not born yet, but for me, the day the music died was December 2, 2022,' Bryan said. Willett's stepmother, Maureen Willett, spoke about the trauma of cleaning the crime scene, saying his apartment was worse than anything she had seen in a movie. Willett's ex-wife, Megan MacDonald, said he will be remembered as an amazing and kind person who was a source of joy and love. After the statements were read, Sorenson stood up and apologized. 'I'm really sorry for what I did,' she said. Court heard that Sorenson grew up in a home with domestic violence and alcohol abuse and spent some time in the foster care system. She was diagnosed with mental health conditions and a personality disorder and was described as having a naïve and childlike manner. She struggled with alcohol and crack cocaine addictions and became more violent under the influence, the court heard. Justice Danyliuk accepted the joint submission from the Crown and defense counsel, sentencing Sorenson to 18 years in a federal institution. With credit for time served in remand, Sorenson has 15 years left in her sentence. Danyliuk made a recommendation to the Correctional Service of Canada that Sorenson serve her time at the Regional Psychiatric Centre.
CBC
30-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Saskatoon woman sentenced to 18 years after pleading guilty to fatally stabbing former boyfriend
A packed Saskatoon courtroom heard how Adam Willett's final act of kindness to his ex-girlfriend Ryah Sorenson cost him his life. "She came to stay one night — and it was his last night alive," prosecutor Michael Pilon said at Court of King's Bench Friday. Sorenson pleaded guilty to manslaughter before Justice Richard Danyliuk. Pilon read from an agreed statement of facts that the pair had started dating in February 2022 when Sorenson was 20 and Willett was 37, and that they broke up that November. Pilon said Sorenson showed up at the apartment on the morning of Dec. 2, 2022, and Willett agreed to let her stay that one night. By her own account, she began drinking "large amounts of whisky" and then began arguing with Willett. Just after 7 p.m. CST, she attacked Willett in his bedroom and stabbed him 21 times. He left a blood trail through the apartment, finally collapsing on the couch where he died. Sorenson then kissed his forehead and lips, covered him with a blanket and went into the hallway with a jar of pills from the coffee table to kill herself, Pilon said. The pills were vitamins, though, and she ended up vomiting and calling 911, he said. "It's not good. I'm sick," she told the operator. "I know I did so bad." She told officers who arrived, "Not fair, not right, I just have a lot of anger." 'Adam's dead' Pilon and defence lawyer Brian Pfefferle made a joint submission for 18 years, which Danyliuk accepted after hearing 13 victim impact statements from Willett's immediate and extended family. "Two words are ingrained in my mind," his father Bryan said. "Adam's dead. Hysterically repeated on the phone by Adam's mother." Family spoke of his love of music and skill at playing guitar and saxophone. Bryan spoke about how Feb. 3, 1959 is called "the day the music died," because that's when Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens perished in a plane crash. "After Dec. 2, 2022, that's the day the music died," Bryan said. Willett's nine-year-daughter from an earlier marriage wrote, "my Dad was taken away from me and that makes me sad." "I worry I'll forget all my memories of him as I grow up." Various family spoke directly to Sorenson, who sat with her head down in the prisoner's box. Their comments echoed twin themes of how it's too early to consider forgiving her, and that she took away all of Willett's future chances. Troubled past Both Pilon and Pfefferle spoke of Sorenson's difficult childhood, marked by substance abuse, self harm, domestic violence and family dysfunction. Although she was charged with second-degree murder, the lawyers settled on manslaughter because of her mental health conditions and the substance abuse impairment that day. Pilon said that she has a history of self harm and addictions to cocaine and alcohol. A psychiatric report described her as "naive, child-like and very timid." In accepting the sentencing recommendation, Danyliuk said "today there are no winners." "There is only loss."
