A Windsor judge has handed a life sentence with no chance of parole for 13 years to a man who tortured and killed another man in west Windsor.
In handing down the sentence, Justice Bruce Thomas said, 'No one deserves to die the way he did," referring to the victim Scott Phillips.
Dustin Schuh, 28, pleaded guilty earlier this month to second-degree murder in the death of the 26-year-old Phillips.
In October 2016, Phillips was kidnapped and taken to an apartment on Mill St where he was tied up, punched, kicked and stabbed multiple times over a period of time.
He later died in the hospital.
The court heart Schuh was a drug dealer who killed Phillips over a drug debt.
Defence lawyer Daniel Brodsky said this was like a scene out of Pulp Fiction but the judge noted, 'this is not fiction."
The judge accepted a joint submission for sentencing.
Brodsky pointed to several character references from family and friends that Schuh is a great father, son, friend, uncle and brother.
Before being led out of the courtroom to serve his sentence, Schuh's family began yelling "I love you Dustin' which was difficult for the victim's family to hear.
"They could have done that in a classier way, in a way that doesn't rub more salt into the wound of people that they have already torn the heart out," says Phillips' cousin Amanda Marion. "What they have done to us, we will never forgive. Scotty was loved. I get it, people think that he was just some drug addict, but he wasn't. He was a kid that fell through the cracks of the system."
Marion said following the vicious attack, she couldn't hold Phillips' hand in the hospital because it hurt him.
Despite the gruesome details of the attack, Phillips felt she need to be in court because, 'it is the last thing I can do for him.'
Assistant Crown Craig Houle says the guilty plea was important for the case given the key witnesses are all criminals who have already pleaded guilty.
"We have to assess what the strength of the crown's case is," he says. "We have to assess the dependability of these witnesses coming forward and telling the truth, and quite frankly as I said in court, traditionally those types of witnesses are not witnesses that are friendly to the crown, they don't want to be here and they don't want to testify. They certainly don't want to be seen as rats."
Out of an abundance of caution, there was extra police presence in court for the hearing to ensure the victim's family didn't feel intimidated.
Because Schuh is American, when he is released, he will be deported.
Before being sentenced, Schuh said he appreciated the support of his family and friends in court and said it is a sad situation for everyone.
Five others charged in the case have already pleaded guilty to lesser charges.
Daniel Shaw will be sentenced April 2nd after he pleaded guilty to forcible confinement.