The Crown is seeking almost 10 years in prison for a man convicted of a horrific killing in the west end of St. John’s three years ago.
The facts suggest Sheldon Hibbs might never have been caught if he hadn’t bragged about the crime while doing meth and crack with friends in Alberta.
That’s where Hibbs high-tailed it after the beaten and bloodied body of 68-year-old Michael King was found on a trail near Waterford Valley high school on May 30, 2021.
By Hibbs’ account, his actions were provoked, while the autopsy detailed multiple lacerations and skull fractures deemed by the Crown as “excessive and gratuitous violence.”
The facts state King met Hibbs on the path on the night of May 29, 2021 with an offer to share a bottle of wine, but Hibbs says he “snapped” when King sexually assaulted him, by jumping on top and kissing and fondling him.
Hibbs struck King in the head with the bottle, with the subsequent beating, including lacerations to the groin area, leading to his death.
Neither a weapon nor the wine bottle were ever found.
King, left unrecognizable and covered in blood, was found the next day by walkers in the area.
Sheldon Hibbs, 29, arrives at Supreme Court in St. John’s for his sentencing hearing. Hibbs has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the beating death of 68-year-old Michael King whose body was body on a trail near Waterford Valley high school on May 30, 2021. pic.twitter.com/qRVaWkftoP
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Hibbs, meanwhile, took off for Alberta where his confession, along with media reports about the killing, helped police tie him to the crime, leading to an arrest 10 months after the fact, and his return to the province.
That return did not go smoothly, with Hibbs causing problems for police on the commercial flight, leading to an expensive charter to bring him back.
Hibbs was first charged with second-degree murder but later pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.
In seeking eight years, the Crown says the killing was closer to murder than an accident, but conceded there was no sign of premeditation or planning.
The defence is shooting much lower, pitching a sentence of four to six years, saying Hibbs was provoked and had no prior criminal record.
Sentencing in the case is set for June 26.
Coincidentally, Hibbs is due back in provincial court the day before to face a charge of aggravated assault.
That’s in connection with an incident earlier this year at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary, where he’s been in custody since he was brought back from Alberta in 2022.