Five close friends and neighbours sat single file in the courtroom Thursday, March 5, to hear the sentencing of a man now accused of second-degree murder in Jessica Cunningham’s death.
Mylie Andre Barron, 48, will spend close to a year behind bars for indignity to a body. But earlier this week he was also charged with killing her.
He appeared by video for his sentencing hearing, facing one count of interference with a dead body after pleading guilty to that charge in October of last year.
On Thursday, Judge Kasandra Cronin handed Barron 21 months in custody – minus time served – and 18 months of probation. With a credit of 287 days, it means Barron will serve a further 343 days behind bars.
Barron and Cunningham were in an intimate relationship at the time of Cunningham’s death.
They frequently used illicit drugs, specifically cocaine and methamphetamine, those in the Port Coquitlam court house heard.
On July 25, Barron’s landlord called the police for a wellness check at the residence, telling police he had not heard from Cunningham in more than a month.
Police put out a missing person alert to the media on Aug. 22.
On Aug. 26, police returned to Barron’s residence to speak with Barron about the investigation and discovered Cunningham’s body inside a freezer in the house.
Police immediately arrested Barron, and he has been in custody since.
When handing out her decision, Cronin took multiple factors into consideration including a history of drug and alcohol use by Barron’s family as he was growing up, a history of sexual abuse by Barron’s father and his father’s friends, and an Indigenous culture that he was denied access to.
He had no criminal history.
The judge also noted that Barron had experienced homelessness when his mother left his abusive father with him and his sister when he was eight years old.
When Barron’s mother died in 2016, his substance use increased and he has attempted suicide 80 times as his mental health deteriorated.
Barron had been using illicit drugs like methamphetamines and cocaine until the day of his arrest.
Cronin took into account the emotional damage done to Cunningham’s family and friends, which she said was evident from the multiple victim impact statements she read.
As Judge Cronin recounted the statement of facts agreed to by Barron, two of Cunningham’s friends sobbed and hugged each other in court.
Since Barron has been taken into custody, he has been held in segregation for safety reasons, specifically the fact that Cunningham’s former husband has apparent links to a Lower Mainland gang.
She noted Barron is willing to participate in Narcotics Anonymous, willing to accept counselling, that he wishes to repair the relationship with his two children, and he wants to return to the workforce.
Cronin felt the community will not be in danger when Barron is eventually released back into the community and the risk can be managed through counselling for his substance use and mental health.
There were multiple conditions placed on his probation including: he must keep the peace and be of good behaviour; appear in court when required to do so; he is not allowed to own any real or imitation weapons or explosives; he must report in person to a probation officer within two business days of his release from custody with an address and phone number for the probation order; and he is not allowed to consume alcohol or drugs, except necessary medical prescriptions.
Earlier this week Barron was also charged with second-degree murder in Cunningham’s death. He is next in court on that charge on Thursday, March 26.