A Quinte West couple were sentenced on Wednesday in a Belleville court for the death of their son in 2020.
Brian David Callighan, age 60 when charges were laid, previously plead guilty to manslaughter in the death of his 23-year-old son Patrick Callighan in 2020.
Callighan was sentenced to eight years in prison for manslaughter. He was also prohibited from owning weapons for the rest of his life.
Callighan’s wife, Christine Callighan, had previously plead guilty to improperly interfering with human remains, and received a sentence of two years minus a day, to be served conditionally.
The sentencing came after a joint submission by the crown and the defending lawyers. Lawyers for both Mr. and Mrs. Callighan summarized the mitigating factors surrounding their clients, including their otherwise demonstrated good character and remorse for their role in the death of their son and the events afterward.
After hearing from both the crown and the defense, and after Mr. and Mrs. Callighan both had an opportunity to speak before the judge, Mr. and Mrs. Callighan both expressed their remorse and sorrow at the loss of their son.
During a previous hearing when the pair had plead guilty to charges, the crown had outlined the events that led to the pair being charged.
On December 15, 2019, Mr. Callighan heard a serious altercation between his wife and son Patrick in the basement of their home on Loyalist Parkway.
When Brian entered the basement he found Patrick with a butcher knife, enraged and standing over his mother who was on the couch, “apparently poised to kill his mother.”
The crown indicated Brian took action to protect his wife, and in the ensuing struggle Patrick suffered fatal injuries.
The crown reported that Brian believed if he had not acted he and his wife would have been killed.
Four months later police exhumed the body of Patrick Callighan from the cement floor of the basement.
