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Ryan Taplin/Metro Halifax
Heather Eisenhauer, facing front, hugs a family friend outside the courtroom at Nova Scotia Supreme Court yesterday after Michael Joseph Mitchelmore was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 13 years. Mitchelmore pleaded guilty last month to murdering Eisenhauer's son Adam and his friend Tyler Sampson in Aug. 2005.
Emotions ran high as family and friends of two murder victims watched Michael Joseph Mitchelmore be sentenced yesterday to life in prison with no eligibility of parole for 13 years.
For his part, the 29-year-old apologized for the killings, breaking down in tears at several points.
Last month, Mitchelmore pleaded guilty to the killings of Adam Eisenhauer, 26, of Glen Haven, and Tyler Sampson, 25, of Boutiliers Point - whose bodies were discovered on Aug. 15, 2005.
Twenty-five impact statements were filed for yesterday’s sentencing hearing before a packed courtroom at Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Halifax, with 11 read before the judge.
Cindy Sampson, Tyler’s older sister, said her family hasn’t celebrated a holiday since the murder.
“Do you know what I would give to eat one more meal with my brother?” she shouted between sobs, eyes fixed upon Mitchelmore.
Tyler’s mother, Janice Sampson, used repetition to express her loss to Mitchelmore.
“You, Michael Mitchelmore, have ruined my life …you have spoiled my mornings … you have violated my nights,” she said as Mitchelmore broke down and sobbed.
Mitchelmore, who is from Glen Haven, then addressed the court.
“If it wasn’t for the drugs I believe none of this would’ve ever happened. I am not a monster, I am a man who made a mistake,” he said.
Heather Eisenhauer, Adam’s mother, didn’t buy the apology outside of court.
“Today, as far as I am concerned, was an act for his benefit,” she said.
But Tyler’s mother said she cried the most during her daughters’ and Mitchelmore’s statements.
“I feel sorry for him, I couldn’t help it -- I would have been the monster he was if my heart wasn’t moved by that."
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