Sandra Dorothy Haggart, one of two North Bay residents charged with second-degree murder in the 2021 downtown stabbing death of Nicolas Nicholls, 27, has pled guilty in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in North Bay to a lesser charge of manslaughter for her role in the attack and received a sentence of 7.5 years in prison.
See related: North Bay Police confirm downtown stabbing victim has died
Sandra Dorothy Haggart was 34 on Dec. 4, 2021, when North Bay police responded to reports that a man had sustained injuries from an edged weapon during an assault and required medical attention. Nicholls was found in critical condition on Wyld Street in downtown North Bay and paramedics rushed him to the hospital. He later died in a Sudbury hospital, on Dec. 11.
The second-degree murder case of Travis Stillaway, the second individual charged in the death of Nicholls is still before the courts with a publication ban attached. He was 27 at the time of the incident and was also charged with four counts of failure to comply with a release order. Stillaway is scheduled to appear next in court on Nov. 15.
See also: Police lay murder charges in downtown knifing
A large coordinated police search was launched after the wanted individuals fled the scene. Authorities apprehended the accused parties the next day, on Dec. 5, 2021, and the North Bay Police Service laid attempted murder charges against Haggart and Stillaway. When the victim died from his injuries nearly one week later, the charges were upgraded to second-degree murder.
Manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and is considered "a homicide that was committed without the intention to cause death, although there may have been an intention to cause bodily harm." A death that is a direct consequence of an unlawful act can lead to manslaughter charges.
