Prison sentence handed down in death of Zachary Hartman

From left to right, Zachary Hartman, Christine, Bill, sister-in-law Jayde and brother Alex. (Source: Gaetano Pellitteri)

Zachary Hartman's friends and family were clearly frustrated with the sentence of Michael Compton on Monday, feeling the judge was too concerned about how Compton was being impacted. 

The 19-year-old Stratford, Ont. man has been handed an eight year penitentiary sentence in relation to the fatal stabbing of a man in Grand Bend last spring.

With credit for time served, the remaining sentence is just over six and a half years.

"We really feel like Michael was protected in all, really babied,” said Jayde Hartman, Zachary's sister-in-law. “The judge is speaking about, 'When you get out, you'll still be young. You'll have your whole life ahead of you.’ Just hearing that is traumatizing."

In December, Michael Compton pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with the stabbing death of Zachary Hartman, 27.

On May 13, 2022, Compton, 18 at the time, was in Grand Bend with his three-year-old son. He was partying with friends when he lost his phone and went to look for it.

That's when he got into a verbal altercation with Hartman. The court heard both men had been drinking at the time. The confrontation turned physical and Compton, with his son nearby, pulled out a knife and stabbed Hartman in the chest.

The court heard that Compton call out, "I just stabbed him. We need to go."

The Exeter musician was found by police in a parking lot near a bar on the Grand Bend main strip. He was taken to South Huron Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

“As a family, we’re just in so much pain and just hearing, ‘You have your whole life ahead of you. You can change.’ The judge believes him and believes he’s sorry," said Hartman. 

Compton left the scene but was later arrested in West Perth in a high-risk takedown by Ontario Provincial Police. He was in a vehicle with his son at the time of his arrest. 

"“Michael got to have a week out of jail over Christmas to be with his family. We were told, ‘Well, he has a son.’ Chrissy, Zack’s mom, she does not get to ever see her son again. So don’t tell us we should have sympathy for this guy who took a life," she said.