Former Aurora resident John Sedo has been sentenced to nine years in prison after being found guilty of manslaughter in the death of his wife, Helen Sedo.
As family and friends watched on in the Newmarket Superior Court of Justice on Wednesday, Oct. 2, Justice Michelle Fuerst handed down the sentence, noting there were several aggravating factors in the case, describing Sedo’s actions as “callous, cold and cruel.”
While the sentence was nine years, this will be reduced due to the time already served in custody, which totals four years and 10 days. Counted at a ratio of 1.5:1, as Sedo was held in custody pre-sentencing, this brings the total sentence Sedo will ultimately serve to two years, 11 months, and 15 days.
Sedo, now 65, was found guilty of manslaughter last February in the death of Helen Sedo in July 2020.
In her sentencing remarks, Justice Fuerst said aggravating factors in the case included the fact it involved intimate partner violence, that Sedo lied to family members in an attempt to “cast Helen Sedo as the villain,” he tried to conceal his involvement and has still not disclosed the location of Helen Sedo’s remains.
But Justice Fuerst did note that there were mitigating factors when it came to sentencing, including the fact Sedo had no criminal record or history of violence, and had spent chunks of his time in pre-sentencing custody in lockdown conditions due to the pandemic, and triple-bunked.
During sentencing submissions on Aug. 28, Crown prosecution Jeanaha Kim had called for a sentence of 13 to 14 years for John Sedo.
Defence lawyer Thomas Pittman called for a sentence of eight years, minus the time already spent in prison, with additional reductions for the “harsh conditions” of Sedo’s pre-sentencing custody.
Helen Sedo, 61, disappeared in July 2020. She was reported missing several days after her disappearance, with investigators soon deeming her disappearance suspicious. Her body has never been found.
John Sedo, then 61, was arrested on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020, and charged in connection with the death.
