Yet another city homicide has been reduced from second-degree murder to manslaughter.
Twenty-nine-year-old Sheldon Hibbs pleaded guilty Wednesday to the lesser charge in Supreme Court.
It means while his actions caused the death of 68-year-old Michael King, it wasn’t on purpose with an intent to kill him.
King’s bloodied body was found on a trail next to Waterford Valley High school on May 30, 2021. Police previously said the two men were known to each other beforehand.
But it wasn’t until 10 months later, in March of 2022, that Hibbs was arrested in Calgary and flown back to St. John’s.
Police hold the scene at the rear of the Waterford Hospital in this May 2021 file photo.
Court was told Hibbs met King on the path, just off Topsail Road, with an invite to continue drinking with him.
But according to the facts, the situation turned violent after King made a pass at Hibbs.
The victim was beaten to death, with numerous fractures and blunt force injuries to his head and body.
Hibbs remains in custody pending the sentencing phase of the case in June.
Two other homicides, both in downtown St. John’s, have gone a similar route — with both David Quirke and Lorraine Obed originally facing charges of second-degree murder that were downgraded in exchange for guilty pleas to manslaughter.
The maximum sentence for manslaughter is life in prison, but the specific term is decided by the judge based on all mitigating and aggravating factors.
