He wanted to plead guilty to manslaughter but the judge said no. Now the man who admits killing his next door neighbour has been found guilty of second degree murder. For weeks, the only question about Daniel Sylvester was whether he deliberately meant to kill Alicia Ross or if he temporarily lost his cool.
The jury's verdict shows they believed there was some intent to commit the crime. The panel was only out for a few hours before making the decision. They exited the courtroom at 10am Tuesday and returned just before 4pm. The trial lasted three weeks, and the court testimony was often graphic and difficult. Sylvester admitted the pair encountered each other in a laneway between their homes one hot August night in 2005 and when she called him a 'loser', he claims he lost his temper, kneed her in the back and then struck her head repeatedly against the pavement.
And there were more terrible revelations - his habit of being a Peeping Tom and his teen fantasies of rape. But it became even harder when the evidence turned to how he disposed of Alicia's body,
going back several times to move it. As suspicion focused on Ross' boyfriend, Sean Hine, the last person to see her alive that night, Sylvester walked into a police station a month later and confessed to the crime, leading police to her remains.
Assistant Crown Attorney Kelly Wright believes the aggregate weight was enough to convince those sitting in judgment they didn't need long deliberations. "I think the strength of the evidence speaks for itself and mostly in the verdict from the jury," she maintains.
Ross' distraught mother, Sharon Fortis, broke down in tears when the verdict was read. So did many other members of Ross' family, who endured some tough testimony but were determined to see justice done.
The reaction from the Sylvester side was muted. The self-confessed killer looked over at his mother and mouthed "I love you" before the verdict was announced. But when it was, he merely looked down with little expression on his face. His mother, the only other member of his family in attendance, also showed little emotion, just wringing her hands as she sat in the hushed courtroom.
The conviction carries an automatic sentence of life in prison, with a minimum of 10-15 years, and it's still to be determined how long Sylvester will have to serve before he's eligible for parole. That will happen in July.
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