Roommates who killed landlord over unpaid bill get 4 years in prison

The mother of a man killed by his roommates says she is tormented by a promise she made to her son. 

"He was not afraid to die but he was afraid to die alone. I told him that would never happen, but I was wrong," said Lorine Helenka-Bowers of her son, Sutton Bowers.

On Thursday, Brian Lambert, 44, and James Beaver, 54, were sentenced to four years in prison for manslaughter by Court of Queen's Bench Justice Keith Yamauchi, who agreed with the term proposed by prosecutor Tom Buglas. 

"This was a senseless crime that had a profound effect on Mr. Bowers' family," said Yamauchi, who called the offenders' actions "cruel, self-serving and socially abhorrent."

In October 2016, Bowers, Lambert and Beaver were living together. Bowers had begun acting erratically, and the relationship with his two roommates deteriorated in the months leading to the killing. Bowers' older sister said he'd struggled but was seeking treatment at the time of his death. 

On Oct. 8, 2016, Bowers confronted Beaver and Lambert over unpaid utilities. According to the facts presented in court last month, the fatal fight might have been initiated by Bowers but it quickly escalated into a violent two-on-one attack.

Bowers was punched, grabbed by the neck and kicked in the stomach. His head was slammed on the floor. 

Afterward, Beaver and Lambert staged Bowers' body at the foot of the stairs in an attempt to fool authorities into thinking he had fallen.

Through his lawyer Gloria Froese, Lambert said "this was not supposed to happen" and expressed his remorse to Bowers' family. 

Beaver's lawyer, Kelsey Sitar, said the attack was "out of character" for her client.

Thanksgiving weekend

The two killers called 911 the next day and initially lied to police before confessing to their roles. 

Bowers died of blunt force trauma to the neck with fractured thyroid cartilage, the medical examiner later determined.

When the family learned of Bowers' death, they were at his sister's home, preparing Thanksgiving dinner. 

Chloe Stone was hosting the 2016 holiday at her home when police arrived at the door. 

In her victim impact statement, Stone called that Sunday the "worst day of my life."

"I wondered if he was in pain and if he could have been saved."