Devin Morningstar, one of three individuals accused in the murder of 18-year-old Moncton man Baylee Wylie, was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday morning.According to the CBC, Morningstar, 19, was given life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years for the first-degree murder charge related to Wylie's December 2015 death, and an additional three-year sentence for committing arson (from setting ablaze the home that contained Wylie's body).
Advertisement
Morningstar was silent during the hearing, and simply nodded along while being read his sentence. On top of the sentence, Wylie's aunt read an impact statement during the hearing, but his mother did not.In November, Morningstar was found guilty of both charges after an extensive and intense trial that reportedly left jury members crying after delivering the verdict. The trial was the first of three—alleged accomplices Marissa Shephard and Tyler Noel are scheduled to go to court in May and October 2017 respectively.According to testimony giving during Morningstar's trial, Wylie was killed after a dispute broke out between the four while they were smoking crack cocaine in the basement of a Moncton, New Brunswick, townhouse regarding who had slept with who.Wylie had reportedly told Shephard that he was sleeping with Morningstar and Noel, which triggered a violent and angry response from the two men toward Wylie. When Wylie said he was going to call the cops, Morningstar devised a plan to frame Wylie for possession of drugs—which him and Noel were allegedly selling themselves.They decided to beat him and leave him for police to arrest, but changed their minds at the last minute. Morningstar then allegedly ordered Shepherd to stab the teen to death, and burn the house down. Wylie's body would later be found by authorities in the basement of a burned out townhouse, leading to a manhunt for the three suspects that lasted weeks.Follow Jake Kivanc on Twitter.