Corey Volland, who was charged with second-degree murder in the death of Laura Wigelsworth, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in a Goderich court.
He was sentenced to 10 years behind bars, but with time served is expected to serve just under nine years.
Wigelsworth, 27, was found dead along Front Road in Vanastra, Ont. in May 2018 - just over two kilometres from her home - after failing to return from an evening walk.
The court heard Thursday that the couple got into a heated fight over Volland's use of cocaine, and that's when he put her in a chokehold and strangled her.
When he realized she no longer had a pulse, he panicked, and dumped her body out of a second floor window, then later moved it to a wooded area.
In a joint submission of facts, Volland was described as a “sporadic” user of cocaine, something Wigelsworth would not tolerate.
In his guilty plea, Volland said he did not intend to kill his fiancee. They were scheduled to marry that summer.
But during sentencing, Justice Bruce Thomas said while he showed remorse, he still dumped the body like a bag of trash and "spun" stories to investigators for hours after his arrest on May 12, 2018.
Family reacts
Volland's lawyer Chris Murphy says Volland wanted to do the right thing and plead guilty to ease the stress on Wigelsworth's family.
For Charyl Phillips, avoiding a trial may ease the pain of losing her sister, but it does not take away the grief.
“There is no amount of time that can bring my sister back. I wish there was something that could bring her back but there is not.”
She adds that the family is, "Going to heal together. We're going to work together and we're going to do the best we can to pick up the pieces."
