David Beattie Sentenced In Killing Of Nolan Panchyshyn Of Southampton

*** Note: This article has graphic, violent content*****

25-year-old David Beattie, who has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and indignity to human remains in connection to the 2017 death of 20-year-old Nolan Panchyshyn of Southampton has been sentenced to nine years in prison, less time served which is roughly 3.5 years in prison.

In December 2017, Panchyshyn was reported missing. In March of 2018, after a police investigation, his dismembered body was found by police.
While Beattie and his older second cousin Dwayne Hammond were charged with second-degree murder at separate points during the investigation, the charge against each of them was dropped.

In October 2018, Beattie admitted he shot Panchyshyn and eventually pleaded guilty to shooting Panchyshyn in the head after the two struggled over a gun, and later hiding and aiding in the dismemberment of Panchyshyn’s deceased body.

Hammond pleaded guilty in 2019 to being an accessory after the fact to and got five years in prison, less presentence custody.

Justice Fletcher Dawson read his reasons for Beattie’s sentence before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Owen Sound Friday (Nov 19).

David Beattie will serve 1,269 days in a federal prison. That takes into account pretrial time in custody which is calculated at 1.5 days for each day in custody. (2,016 days or roughly 5.5 years already spent in custody).

Tim Panchshyn, Nolan’s father, spoke to reporters at the courthouse after the sentencing, saying, “We know that the judge was experienced and very thorough. The amount of work he put into this was incredible. The detectives that were involved–incredible. The Crown was amazing. Everybody involved did a fabulous job and I can’t knock any of them. We’re just blown away. There’s of course some statement of facts that we totally didn’t agree with, but the two criminals involved, it’s their word against my son, and my son– he’s not here to defend himself. That part was very hard to listen to, because I know my son, we know our son. He was a good boy and unfortunately the whole thing seemed to be twisted around and those two criminals– they were rewarded for lying. At the same time, the judge, he gave us pretty close to what we were hoping for, so again, we’re thankful for the judge and his decision. The fact that Dave’s (Beattie) going to federal prison is awesome,” says Panchyshyn.

Panchyshyn continued, “It’s been really hard on us. It’s four years December 13th, he’s been gone. So we wake up in the morning, we see his picture. Before we go to bed, that’s all we see and we think about it constantly. Every single day.” Panchyshyhn says it’s been tough on the family. “It’s just been so hard, and for this to be coming to an end…I hope we never have to come into this building again because that’s been a very hard process.”

He adds, “What he did to our family and our little boy is just sickening.”

On the first count of manslaughter, Beattie will serve 539 days. On the second count of indignity to a body, Beattie will serve 730 consecutive days. He is also ordered to provide a DNA sample for the convicted offender’s databank and is prohibited for life from possessing a firearm or weapon. He is also prohibited from communicating with many members of Panchyshyn’s family.

Justice Dawson read the basics of the case to the court, explaining Panchyshyn was reported missing on December 20th, 2017 after his friends and family had not heard from him since December 13th of that year.

His remains were found after police executed a search warrant on March 15th, 2018 at a rural property in Dornoch where Beattie  and Hammond  had lived.

When Beattie and Hammond were interviewed by police, they admitted to being with Panchyshyn on December 13th but said they had dropped him off alive and well in Owen Sound. Police believed those statements to be false. Justice Dawson said the agreed statement of facts in the case are that Panchyshyn was not dropped off in Owen Sound and that he stayed with Beattie and Hammond. The three men are believed to have gone to the St. Mary’s area and then Panchyshyn and Hammond went to London before reconnecting with Beattie and going to the Dornoch area property. They were doing drugs at the time, specifically meth, according to the agreed statement of facts.

While Beattie and Hammond’s stories changed over the course of the investigation, the agreed statement of facts, supported by their explanation of what happened says Beattie and Panchyshyn had a series of arguments that culminated in a struggle in an upstairs bedroom for control over a rifle Panchyshyn had stolen from his grandfather’s house, and according to the statement of facts, Panchyshyn then pointed at Beattie. Beattie is said to have wrestled the gun from Panchyshyn who fell back onto a bed, and Beattie shot him once in the head, killing him.

Beattie has admitted he shot Panchyshyn but has said he believes he was acting in self-defence. He has also agreed he used excessive force beyond what was required to defend himself.

The agreed statement of facts says the night of the shooting Beattie and Hammond dragged Panchyshyn’s body into the woods with the intent to bury him later but the court says the men could not find his body after a heavy snowfall.
The agreed statement of facts says, in January 2018, Beattie was in jail due to another matter when he heard the police were coming for him and Hammond. When he was released he told Hammond they needed to dispose of Panchyshyn’s body. They found his body a few weeks before police searched the property but couldn’t bury it because the ground was frozen. They proceeded to cut the body into pieces, and while a portion of an arm was found partially burned in a fire pit, the rest of the body was frozen in a roughly 2 foot by 2 foot metal box which was kept in an outbuilding on the property.Justice Dawson said “The interference with Mr. Panchyshyn’s remains was extensive. The impact the mistreatment of Nolan Panchyshyn’s dead body has had on his family members is palpable. As the victim impact evidence reveals, this makes their grief more profound.”

Dawson went on to say the second count (indignity to a body) was a separate misconduct committed months after the homicide. “This was an act quite separate from the killing, designed to further hide what had occurred,” said Dawson.

He said aggrravating factors include the use of a firearm, and that Beattie assisted in cleaning up the scene, dragging Panchyshyn’s body out of the house and dispoing of the murder weapon as well as hiding his body and failing to disclose the offence, leaving Panchyshyn’s family worrying about him.

Dawson also noted the gun was only fired once, but that Hammond’s testimony said Beattie came downstairs after the shooting and said, “Haha, bang. Ooop. What a rush.” Dawson says “This suggests the firearm was discharged more out of anger or loss of self-control due to provocation than due to fear or the perceived need for self defence,” though Dawson also noted both men were using meth before the shooting.

Justice Dawson also said mitigating factors must be taken into account and those include Beattie’s prospects for rehabilitation.
He also noted Beattie’s guilty plea is a mitigating factor because it acknowledged responsibility and might indicate remorse which Dawson considers to be a step in the rehabilitative process. Dawson said a guilty plea saves the need for a trial which has spared the family that involvement and the state a ‘great expense.’He spoke about Beattie’s background saying he grew up in the Owen Sound area with a “difficult and traumatic upbringing.” There was alcoholism and domestic violence in the home. When Beattie’s mother left his father, his father hanged himself. Following that, turmoil continued in Beattie’s home. At about the age of 13 he started to drink and use drugs. He was getting into fights and was eventually expelled from school. When he was 15, he lived on the street for a time and was in and out of the youth criminal justice system. His criminal record has some 40 convictions according to Justice Dawson, many of them minor property offences or refusals to comply with court conditions. Dawson also said Beattie appears to have made some positive changes in pretrial custody noting it is ‘quite unusual’ for the court to receive letters from four correctional officers and two social workers attesting to positive changes in Beattie’s attitude and behaviour, saying, “He has gone from immature, difficult, volatile and a troublemaker to someone with such good behaviour he has earned a position of trust and responsibility as a unit server,” noting the letters say Beattie has become calmer and more mature and helps to solve problems in his unit.

Dawson said, “Nolan Panchyshyn’s death had a profound and devastating impact on many people. Although Mr. Panchyshyn had a drug problem, the victim impact statements demonstrate that his family felt he was trying to come to grips with those problems and had many hopes for a brighter future.” He also noted there was a terrible impact that flowed from not knowing for months what had happened to Panchyshyn followed by the additional impact of learning that his body had been dismembered. Dawson said, “This has made dealing with Nolan’s death more difficult for those who cared about him. It has contributed to and amplified the family’s grief.”