REGINA -- Jason McKay has been sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of second-degree murder in the stabbing death of his wife, Jenny McKay, in 2017.

ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE AFTER 17 YEARS

After listening to victim impact statements and hearing from McKay himself, Justice Michael Tochor ruled McKay needs to serve 17 years before he is eligible to apply for parole. The parole date will be calculated from when he was first arrested in 2017.

Tocher said in court that he came to his decision by considering three elements: McKay's character, the nature of the offence and its circumstances.

When reviewing McKay’s character, Tocher said he looked at his previous offences and saw McKay had been convicted of three assaults causing bodily harm. He noted one of those offences happened more than 20 years ago.

The judge took into consideration McKay’s behaviour and Jenny’s 9-1-1 calls saying she was scared for her life weeks before her death.

When it came to the nature and circumstance of the offence, Tocher said the numerous stab wound Jenny suffered, the photographs McKay took of her and the victim impact statements affected his decision.

‘YEARS OF BEING BEATEN DOWN’

The court heard eight victim impact statements read. Six of those statements were from family of Jenny McKay and two were from Jason McKay’s family.

Jenny’s mother, Glenda Campbell, broke down during her statement.

“For me the crime started long before her murder. Years of being beaten down,” Campbell said.

Jenny’s aunt, Kim Campbell, wrote a poem for Jenny because she was known for her poetry among her loved ones.

“Incomprehensible sense of violence that took a beautiful soul,” Kim Campbell said.

The family also spoke about the life altering stroke Jenny’s grandmother suffered 48 hours after hearing about her granddaughters death.

“The depth of our loss is immeasurable and our grief has no ending.”

LIFE CUT TOO SHORT

Jenny’s two siblings, Alison and Ben Campbell, spoke about the close bond they had with her.

“I lost not only my big sister, but my best friend,” Alison Campbell said.

Ben Campbell spoke about how it has pained him to know the suffering Jenny endured from Jason before her death and on the night of September 6, 2017 when she was killed.

“What really breaks my heart is to imagine what Jenny’s final moments must have been like,” Ben Campbell said.

He also spoke about how Jenny’s life was cut too short.

“I believe the best days of her life were still ahead of her, because she was murdered, those days were taken away from her.”

MCKAY SPEAKS

Jason McKay appeared in court via video since only a judge and the prosecution were allowed in the court room due to COVID-19 restrictions.

McKay told the court about his mental health issues that he’s suffered from it his entire life.

He said he loved his wife and he missed Jenny deeply. McKay called her the love of his life and his best friend. He also apologized to Jenny, her family and his family for what he did.