Calgary man with 'history of terrorizing' wife should spend 15-18 years in prison for manslaughter: Crown

A Calgary man with a "history of terrorizing" his wife should spend at least 15 years in prison for manslaughter after he fatally ran over the 33-year-old woman with a U-Haul, the Crown argued Friday.

Ronald John Candaele, 40, killed Melissa Blommaert on Feb. 10, 2020.

In 2021, Candaele was convicted of second-degree murder and handed a life sentence with no chance of parole for 16 years.

But he appealed, and in April the province's top court ruled Candaele is guilty of manslaughter, not murder, and sent the case back to the trial judge for resentencing. 

• Calgary man who drove over wife with U-Haul guilty of manslaughter, not murder: court of appeal

On Friday, Court of King's Bench Justice Blair Nixon heard sentencing submissions from defence lawyer Kim Ross and prosecutor Robert Marquette.

Marquette called the killing "a heinous act of domestic violence" and asked Nixon to impose a prison term of between 15 and 18 years.

"[Candaele] is the author of this situation, he killed the mother of his children," said Marquette.

"He is left with all the possibility that living provides ... there are no possibilities for Ms. Blommaert."

'A very spontaneous act'

Ross asked the judge to consider a sentence of between six and 10 years. 

"It was a very spontaneous act on the night in question," said Ross of the killing.

Nixon will consider the submissions before he makes his decision later this month. 

Throughout Ross's submissions, Candaele could be heard crying. 

On Feb. 10, 2020, Candaele and Blommaert had just been evicted from their subsidized housing apartment.

The couple rented a U-Haul and the pair had filled it with the contents of their apartment. 

Left to die in street

While on a street in the northwest community of Bowness, the two got into an argument. 

Blommaert got out of the vehicle and as she stormed away, Candaele drove into her, ran over her, turned around and drove away.

"The offender left Ms. Blommaert to die in the middle of the street on a cold winter night," said Marquette.

Candaele had previous convictions for domestic violence against his wife and was under a court-ordered condition to stay away from her.

Justice Nixon described the killer's history with his wife as a "long, tragic cycle of domestic violence which culminated in Mr. Candaele committing the most heinous offence against Ms. Blommaert."