House arrest, curfew for pair on accessory charges in Breau murder

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Two people who pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to murder will serve community sentences.

Travis Earl Boudreau, 34, and Sarah Jean Belzil, 37, were among six initially charged with first degree murder in the 2022 death of Justin David Breau. In March, they each pleaded guilty to new charges of accessory after the fact to murder, and on Friday in Saint John provincial court, Justice Darrell Stephenson sentenced them each to 12-month conditional sentence orders, including six months of house arrest for Boudreau.

The sentencing hearings are subject to a publication ban which applies to details relating to the remaining defendants, and Brunswick News is withholding any details of the case that would violate the ban.

The remaining defendants charged with first-degree murder are Charles William Shatford, 49, Donald Robert Walker, 51, and Evan Louis Tobias, 29, with the trial scheduled Sept. 16 to Oct. 31. “Voir dire” pre-trial evidence hearings began March 15 and run until April 12. Dustin Trey Walker-Hammond, 25, pleaded guilty in January to a charge of manslaughter by causing Breau‘s unlawful death, and a sentencing decision is scheduled for April 23.

Breau, 39, was allegedly killed Aug. 17, 2022, when police said three masked individuals broke into his Charles Street apartment and fatally stabbed him before fleeing on foot. Breau had previously been found not guilty of second-degree murder in the 2019 death of Shatford’s brother, Mark Shatford.

Boudreau, who had a past criminal record and had been released from a federal sentence at the time of the alleged murder, had been remanded for 22 months in custody and was sentenced to a conditional sentence order which included six months of house arrest, followed by a curfew. Belzil, who had no previous record, had credit for 7.5 months in remand with a further 6 months on house arrest. Her sentence included a curfew stipulation.

A conditional sentence order (CSO) is defined by the court as a period of incarceration in the community, during which if an offender breaches the order, they can be held in custody for some or all of the remaining sentence. Both sentences were joint recommendations between defence and Crown prosecutors.

Belzil’s lawyer T.J. Burke called the joint recommendation a “fair and appropriate sentence” which allows his client to attend school. Boudreau’s lawyer David Lutz had opposed Crown prosecutor Chris Ryan’s original submission of a two-year CSO, with a year of house arrest, but after a brief recess he and Ryan presented the 12-month CSO with six months of house arrest as a joint recommendation.

Breau’s mother Susanne Breau read a victim impact statement which reiterated similar themes as the one she read at Walker-Hammond’s sentencing hearing March 20, which was before a different judge. She spoke of the impact of her son’s death on her son’s children, one of whom she said is related to Boudreau. She described her son as sensitive and caring, and said she was “full of anger” towards those responsible, saying “not everyone is getting their due.”

She called Boudreau and Belzil “despicable,” and accused Boudreau of winking at her and blowing a kiss during his court appearances. She referred to family history related to Boudreau which lead one member of his family to interject and leave the courtroom, shortly after which Breau ended the statement.

Belzil addressed the court, saying “I apologize to the court for the inconvenience, and to Breau’s mother for what she had to go through.” Boudreau also apologized to Breau’s mother, saying he “can’t imagine living with the loss” she feels. He said he “would never” make those faces and she may have mistakenly seen something directed at his own family.

Lutz and Burke declined comment after the hearing. In a statement, Susanne Breau said Boudreau and Belzil shared responsibility for her son’s death and “as far as I’m concerned, they both should be locked up.” She said she “did not mistake” Boudreau’s courtroom conduct, which she described as “total disdain.”

Both Belzil and Boudreau were also ordered to take treatment or counselling as directed by a sentence supervisor, submit a sample of DNA and were banned from owning firearms. They were also banned from contacting the other co-defendants.