Two Sault men pleaded guilty today to manslaughter in connection with the death of Elmer Tangie, whose bound and gagged body was found wrapped in bedclothes at a Second Line West apartment two years ago.
William Ross, 45, and Glen Pelchat, 39, admitted that their actions on Jan. 28, 2022 contributed to the 53-year-old man's death.
The pair was initially charged last year with first-degree murder but the Crown amended the counts to manslaughter.
Ontario Court Justice Romuald Kwolek heard Tangie was beaten and attacked with an edged weapon during a night of drinking and drug use that included fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine.
The victim went to the apartment with Ross and his girlfriend.
Three other people who were unknown to Tangie were there, including Pelchat.
At one point, Tangie left for a short period in his truck to get a coffee, prosecutor Karen Pritchard said in an agreed statement of facts.
Ross, Pelchat and a third man were in a bedroom.
When Ross came out of the room he was upset that Tangie had left, but provided him with drugs when he returned.
Later that night, an angry Ross confronted him about going to get coffee without him.
Two women decided to leave the apartment and drove away in Tangie's vehicle.
The confrontation escalated and Ross punched Tangie, who was sitting on a couch, several times, causing the victim to fall to the floor.
Ross then attacked him with an edged weapon, cutting his face and stabbing him in the shoulder. One of the slashes across his right cheek was 15 cm long.
Pelchat was in the bathroom during the attack.
A helpless Tangie was on the floor, bleeding and making audible gurgling noises, when Pelchat came out of the washroom.
Ross told Pelchat to "shut him up" and Pelchat "delivered one kick" to Tangie's head, Pritchard told the court.
Tangie's hands and feet were bound. He was gagged, wrapped in a sheet, blanket and comforter and abandoned on the floor of the bedroom.
Ross took a shower and then departed the scene.
Pelchat cleaned the walls and floor around the victim before leaving.
On Jan. 29, city police checked the apartment at the request of the woman who resided there.
Officers spotted blood splatter on the living room ceiling, found a wet mop in a closet and a mop bucket in the shower.
A long bundle of blankets with two large storage tote lids on top of it was on the bedroom floor, and there was blood at one end.
When officers removed the lids, they found garbage bags and then two blankets, one of which was secured with fabric strips.
They discovered Tangie's body when they cut the strips.
A forensic identification officer located packaged syringes, spoons and Naloxone in the room.
He also noted black plastic tied around the victim's wrists and neck.
Blood stains were found throughout the apartment, not only in the bedroom, but also in the bathroom, living room and kitchen.
A postmortem examination revealed six sharp force injuries on Tangie's cheeks, face and shoulder.
He also had 11 blunt force injuries — abrasions, contusions and lacerations — on his face, forehead and arm.
Toxicological analysis found fentanyl, cocaine, meth and a byproduct of cocaine in the victim's blood.
The forensic pathologist who conducted the postmortem attributed the death to the drug toxicity in Tangie, who also had hypertension heart disease, and blunt and sharp force injuries.
These injuries alone were not severe enough to cause his death, the pathologist said.
The drugs and the heart disease each individually could have caused death.
All three factors (the injuries, heart disease and drugs) together may have played a contributory role in death, the expert concluded.
Sentencing will take place on March 28.
A dozen members of Tangie's family were gathered in the courtroom to learn about what happened to their loved one.
Pritchard told the judge they will provide victim impact statements at the sentencing hearing next month.
A third man, Brandon Wyatt, still faces a charge of first-degree murder in connection with Tangie's death. He is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
On Tuesday, Ross also pleaded guilty to nine unrelated offences stemming from a traffic stop on June 22, 2022.
He was convicted of three counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Kwolek heard he was found with 13.9 grams of meth, 3.95 grams of fentanyl and 7.5 grams of cocaine.
He also was found guilty of weapons offences, including possession of a prohibited firearm and ammunition and possessing a shotgun while prohibited.
As well, Ross was convicted of possession of stolen property (credit cards and identification).