LONDON, ONT. -- A 24-year-old London man was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the brutal stabbing death of an acquaintance.
In the early morning hours of Dec. 8, 2018 Adriano Simoes got into a verbal argument with 21-year-old Jordan Melo over a slammed door at an apartment building on Hamilton Road.
Seconds later Melo was stabbed twice in the neck and once on the abdomen. The court heard he was rushed to hospital but died there minutes later.
In her victim impact statement, Fernanda Melo, the victim's mother told the court she misses her only child everyday.
Recalling the night in question she said, “All I could do was tell him to hang on.” She continued, “Dec. 8 of 2018, I lost my heart and soul...No amount of justice will ever bring my baby back to me.”
A remorseful Simoes, who suffers from mental health issues including depression, told the court and Melo’s mother he cries all the time over his actions saying, “I’m so sorry for taking his life away...I will take full responsibility.”
While handing down his sentence Justice Bruce Thomas told the court, “It was a savage attack with a knife with deadly consequences.” He continued, “A life lost...over a slammed door...it was senseless.”
In a joint submission from the Crown and the defence, Thomas said Simoes must serve at least 10 years of his sentence before being eligible for parole.
