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“To find as an aggravating factor that Mr. Barton knew he was going to harm Ms. Gladue based on his internet search history was unfair … The Crown put in his search terms in the trial but didn’t put it in what he would’ve actually found.”
Barton testified during his trial that he had arranged to pay Gladue for a night of “rough sex” and was shocked when he woke in the morning to find her dead.
Crown prosecutors had recommended Barton be sentenced to between 18 and 20 years. The defence, saying the Crown did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Barton intended to kill Gladue, had suggested no more than nine years.