A panhandler who killed a 32-year-old man by stabbing him and stomping on his head will serve life in prison.
Nicole Kish, who was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of Ross Hammond a month ago, won't have a chance at parole for at least 12 years.
The 2007 incident began after Kish, who was with three American men at the time, approached Hammond and demanded money on Queen Street West.
But when Hammond, of St. Catharines, refused, he was stabbed, punched and kicked to the ground by Kish.
He was beaten so badly that his family would later say he was "unrecognizable" because of the intense swelling he suffered to his head and face.
Earlier in the day Hammond's widow, Kara Hammond, said she had no idea what to do after her beloved's life was taken.
"I stood there a widow at the age of 33 thinking, ‘What am I supposed to do without him?'" she said during her victim impact statement. "It wasn't fair, this wasn't how our life was supposed to be."
Hammond's mother Connie added that she still suffers from "tears in the morning" even three-and-a-half years after the incident.
And his older sister, Gina Air, said she was not able to forgive or forget Kish for her actions.
Reporting by CTV's Tamara Cherry
