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A 22-year-old Saskatoon woman has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with the stabbing death of 37-year-old Adam Jeffrey Willett.
On Dec. 2, 2022, Ryah Marty Sorenson called 9-1-1 to report that she had taken some pills because “I did something bad. I hurt someone so now I’m going to jail.”
Willett was found dead in his apartment suite in the 1600 block of Seventh Street East. He’d been stabbed 17 times.
Crown prosecutor Michael Pilon read some of the facts into the record before Justice Richard Danyliuk accepted Sorenson’s guilty plea in Saskatoon Court of King’s Bench.
She was initially charged with second-degree murder after police arrested her in the stairway of Willett’s Holliston neighbourhood apartment building around 7:25 p.m.
She had thrown up from the pills she took, which were determined to be vitamins from Willett’s suite, Pilon said.
On the way to the hospital, she told officers “I know I’m going to get what I deserve. I didn’t think I could do this.”
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Later, during a warned police statement, Sorenson said she’d been in a relationship with Willett for almost a year. She said she didn’t plan to kill him, but wouldn’t say why she did.
“She said it was hard to believe; she didn’t think she could do it. If she could go back she would stop herself, but she said she was sorry for what happened,” Pilon told court.
In his obituary, Willett is described as a “loving father and passionate musician” who played the guitar and saxophone, often on stage during Saturday night jam sessions at Buds on Broadway.
“He had a deep appreciation for blues and rock music, but anything that spoke to the soul or heart would always uplift him in an unforgettable way. He would play with the utmost passion and share it with anyone he thought could use it, or simply just enjoy the experience,” the obituary states.
“Adam cared about (his daughter) as much as any father ever could, and would do anything and everything to ensure her safety and happiness, to provide for her, and the love he felt for her was ever present.”
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Sentencing is scheduled for May 30. Defence lawyer Brian Pfefferle indicated that the Crown and defence will jointly propose a sentence of 15 years.
Pfefferle also requested a pre-sentence report with an emphasis on Sorenson’s mental health issues and Gladue factors.
“She has been held almost exclusively in the North Battleford Hospital’s Forensic Unit due to her complex mental health needs,” Pfefferle told the StarPhoenix.
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