A Windsor man has been handed a suspended sentence after pleading guilty in connection to his brother's death.
Darcey Woodrich, 36, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in November of 2018.
In October 2017, Woodrich was play fighting or wrestling with his younger brother Corey in the backyard of a home on Elm St. near University when he placed Corey in a choke hold. Corey lost consciousness and later died in hospital.
On Monday, a judge handed him a suspended sentence and 12-months probation.
Defence lawyer Bob DiPietro says it was an unfortunate case.
"It's a very tragic set of circumstances that people will have to carry with for the rest of their lives," he says. "He [Darcey] is grieving and will continue to grieve from the day it happened and will grieve for the rest of his life. As you know, he has a major sense of remorse and a sense of guilt also and so it's a very difficult thing he's going to have to deal with."
DiPietro admits the victim's family did not want Darcey to be punished.
"Normally victims of crime, the families will want to see a positive step towards prosecution but that wasn't the case here. The victim's family didn't want prosecution since they're dealing with not only the death in their family but the prosecution of their other son."
Court heard an autopsy showed Corey suffered from a pre-existing medical condition that was aggravated by the choke hold and that Darcey was not legally responsible for his brother's death.
During a statement in court, Woodrich's mother said Darcey has a life sentence beyond anything handed by the court.
She said the two brothers were best friends and loved each other.