Deanna Charrion, 38, wept in court believing she might go home, but Superior Court Justice Breese Davies handed down a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence for the manslaughter of her partner, Gerrard Martin. The judge rejected both the defense's proposal of a two-years-less-a-day conditional term and the Crown's suggested eight-year sentence, calling the former shockingly lenient and the latter disproportionate.
Background of a Turbulent Relationship
By January 2024, Martin, 60, and Charrion had been in an intimate relationship for about five tumultuous years, both struggling with alcohol and drug addiction. Their relationship was described by the judge as abusive and violent, with frequent accusations of infidelity leading to explosive arguments and physical altercations.
Martin, who had won $250,000 in a lottery, lived alone on the second floor of a semi-detached house near Jones and Danforth Avenues. The couple's fights were so disruptive that the landlady was pursuing eviction.
The Fatal Incident
On January 22, 2024, the couple visited Maple Leaf Sports Bar and Grill. During the afternoon, Charrion took Martin back to his apartment because he was heavily intoxicated. She later went to another bar before returning to the Maple Leaf until 11:35 p.m. Charrion admitted to being very drunk, rating her intoxication as eight out of ten. She was angered by Martin's incessant calls—over 25 between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m.—and testified that their argument escalated quickly.
About 20 minutes after her arrival, Martin fell down the stairs from the second-floor landing, crashing through a door on the main floor. He died less than a month later from injuries including broken ribs, a shoulder blade, arm, vertebrae, and a subdural hemorrhage.
Court Findings
In December 2025, a jury acquitted Charrion of second-degree murder but convicted her of manslaughter, rejecting her self-defense claim and the notion that she intended to kill him. Justice Davies found Charrion to be the primary aggressor, stating that she started the argument, pursued Martin as he tried to retreat, and deliberately pushed him at the top of the stairs, causing his fall. Martin's intoxication—his blood alcohol level was five times the legal limit—likely contributed to his fall.
The judge noted aggravating factors: Martin was killed in his own home by an intimate partner, and there was ample evidence of a pattern of abuse, including past slapping, spitting, and abusive messages. Charrion had a 2021 conviction for assaulting Martin, though the judge could not consider it due to record removal rules. Martin's vulnerability due to emphysema and lung cancer was also considered.
However, Davies believed Charrion did not intend to kill him, describing the act as closer to an accident than murder. She cited Charrion's remorse and two years of sobriety as mitigating factors. The judge concluded that three-and-a-half years was the minimum sentence to uphold denunciation and deterrence.
