Guy Turcotte sentenced to life with no chance of parole for 17 years

Guy Turcotte has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 17 yearsfor killing his two children.

Quebec Superior CourtJusticeAndrVincent handed down the sentence in St-Jrme this morning.

Last month, Turcottewas found guilty of second-degree murder in the 2009 stabbing deaths of his two young children, Olivier, 5, andAnne-Sophie, 3.

Turcotte's guilty verdict, handed down after seven days of deliberation by an 11-member jury, carriesan automatic life sentence.

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Vincent said the sentencereflectsthenature and gravity of the crimes.

He qualified the crimes as hateful and horrible and said the sentencemust reflect society's indignation.

The Crown prosecutor asked that Turcotteserve a minimum of 20 years, while the defence argued he should be eligible to apply for parole after 10 years.

Vincent said the Crown's requestwas exaggerated anddid notcorrespondwith the character ofTurcotte, who had no previous convictions and wasnot considered a risk to society.

As to the defence's requested limit, Vincent said itdidnot reflect the moral guilt of Turcotte.

Loss will 'never be over,' mother says

Isabelle Gaston, Turcotte's ex-wife and the mother of the murdered children, saidthe sentence will give him time to ponder his crime.

"I know thatfrom now on he will have work to do torecognizeall the harm he did to my family and to my children," Gaston told CBC News.

"There area lot of chapters that closed in the day of the verdict. It was important for me to believe in justice and that we are protected when something bad happens," she said.

"But the chapter of the loss of my children will never be over."

Emotional sentencing hearing

Turcotte's sentencing hearing last month became emotional when Gastondelivered a victim impact statement.

She told the courtabout the pain she has dealt with for the last seven years.

Gastonnotedshe had endured one trial after which Turcotte was found not criminally responsible for killing Anne-Sophie and Olivier and later, thesecond trial that ultimately ended in hissecond-degree murder conviction.

Gaston asked her ex-husband to look her in the eyes. She told Turcotte that he had broken her heart, but not her resilience.

During her statement, Turcotte sobbed.

Turcotte later addressed the court. He wiped away his tears as he spoke of his shame.

He told his ex-wife that he can never forgive himself for what happened.

Turcotte's legal team is appealing the guiltyverdict.