Toronto man gets life sentence for beating girlfriend to death in west end home

Andrew Gerber has been sentenced to beingness successful situation with nary accidental of parole for 12 years aft helium admitted to viciously beating his girlfriend, 42-year-old Jennyfer Lachapelle, successful the westbound extremity flat wherever the mates lived connected March 13, 2019.

“I person considered mitigating factors that Mr. Gerber’s addiction, his intoxication, and his untreated intelligence unwellness was causal factors successful the committee of the offence,” Superior Court Justice Maureen Forestell said successful handing down her condemnation successful a Toronto courtroom connected Friday.

According to an agreed connection of facts work into the grounds connected Sept. 18, 2024, erstwhile Gerber pleaded guilty, the brace met successful February 2019 and started surviving unneurotic astir instantly astatine a Toronto Community Housing Building connected Pelham Park Gardens.

Both had addiction and intelligence wellness issues and Gerber, who is bipolar, was not taking his medication. Lachapelle suffered from Crohn’s disease, chronic backmost symptom and muscular dystrophy.

On March 12, 2019, Gerber and Lachapelle obtained ace cocaine from different nonmigratory successful the building. But, according to Gerber, helium was upset astir however Lachapelle had obtained the drugs. During that time and evening, they consumed the drugs.

The toxicology study prepared arsenic a effect of the autopsy confirmed Lachapelle had drugs successful her system. That evening, she near the flat to sojourn idiosyncratic successful the gathering and Gerber locked her retired of the unit.

Video surveillance from the hallway captured Lachapelle returning to the apartment, knocking connected the doorway and peeking done the message slot. After 20 minutes of banging connected the door, leaving past returning again, she was fixed entry.

Gerber reported that aft Lachapelle returned, they watched wrestling.

“Mr. Gerber wanted and started to enactment retired wrestling maneuvers connected Ms. Lachapelle,” Forestell said.

“These maneuvers included jumping disconnected the java array onto Ms. Lachapelle portion she was prone connected the floor. While his judgement and thoughts were impacted by the untreated intelligence wellness and ace cocaine use, helium besides acknowledges that helium was inactive upset, wanted to wounded her, and was alert determination was a likelihood of death. He was reckless arsenic to whether decease occurred.”

Gerber said that aft practicing these maneuvers, helium passed out.

When helium woke up, helium realized Lachapelle was unconscious and believed she was dead. He called 911 astatine 2:46 a.m. and reported helium had conscionable travel location from a barroom and recovered his woman beaten connected the level and she wasn’t breathing.

When paramedics arrived, Lachapelle was pronounced dead. Gerber told constabulary officers helium believed determination had been a break-in.

A post-mortem introspection recovered the origin of decease to beryllium “blunt unit injuries to the thorax and abdomen.” The forensic pathologist noted extended injuries to Lachapelle including extended hemorrhaging and bruising, and galore fractures to her ribs, on with a fracture to her mandible and thoracic spine.

At the preliminary hearing, the pathologist testified that the spine wounded was usually seen successful idiosyncratic who “jumps down a precocious building, a bridge, oregon struck by a train…hit astatine precocious speed.” He described the spine wounded arsenic a “very antithetic and unexplained injury,” but idiosyncratic jumping disconnected a array to Lachapelle portion she laic connected her tummy could not beryllium ruled out.

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Forestell said that Lachapelle’s member described her, successful his unfortunate interaction statement, arsenic idiosyncratic who was susceptible to manipulation to others.

Gerber’s biologic parents were some Indigenous.

He and his sister were adopted erstwhile helium was two-and-a-half years aged and his adoptive parents received reports of aboriginal carnal maltreatment of Gerber by his biologic parents. At astir 19 years old, helium was diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder. By 21, Gerber became a regular idiosyncratic of ace cocaine, MDMA and cannabis. At 33, helium began to usage crystal meth and continued to usage crystal meth and ace cocaine until the murder.

Gerber had often been non-compliant with the prescribed medicine for his bipolar disorder, peculiarly erstwhile utilizing illicit substances, arsenic was the lawsuit erstwhile helium killed Lachapelle.

Gerber had 2 anterior convictions for uttering threats, including a 2017 condemnation for threatening a pistillate who helium lived with.

Forestell noted that erstwhile helium had a accidental to code the court, Gerber expressed remorse for his behaviour and accepted responsibility.

The justice noted that the courts person “consistently articulated that unit against an intimate spouse is simply a important and longstanding occupation successful our society” and called the sidesplitting to Lachapelle arsenic “particularly brutal” noting that Gerber lied to debar apprehension and had a anterior grounds for uttering threats.

Forestell noted that mitigating factors including Gladue factors, intelligence illness, addiction and the harsh conditions of his pre-sentence custody, which brought the parole ineligibility to the lowest extremity of the range.

The justice urged Gerber to service arsenic overmuch of this condemnation arsenic imaginable successful an instauration with an Aboriginal Pathways portion and entree to Aboriginal programming.