Guilty plea to being an accessory in death of man found in a barrel
Joseph Hodgkin (Source: London Police Service)
Joseph Hodgkin has pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to murder.
In July of 2020 London police were investigating the discovery of a body in a barrel along the Thames River near Adelaide Street.
The investigation lead to the arrest of five people including Hodgkin, 52, who was charged in connection with the death of Grant Norton, 59 of Ingersoll.
Defence lawyer James Zegers told the court Hodgkin was called to the home of a friend that summer for an emergency and when he arrived he came across a body in a barrel.
Zegers said Hodgkin and another man moved the body by putting the barrel on top of a lawnmower, “Taking the body in a barrel and disposing it in a nearby ravine.”
Court heard, Norton who had been missing for some time, was known to have connections with members of the mob in the Hamilton area.
Four other people remain in custody charged in connection with Norton’s death.
Hodgkin will be back in court on July 5 for his sentencing hearing.
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