An Ontario judge has sentenced a man who pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of his ex-girlfriend to life in prison without parole eligibility for 18 years.
The case is one of dozens affected by alleged violations of Maplehurst Correctional Complex inmates' rights during their incarceration at the facility in Milton, Ont.
Court heard that Linval Ritchie broke into a basement apartment in Brampton, Ont., where Vanessa Virgioni lived with their seven-year-old son in the early morning of June 18, 2022.
Ontario Superior Court Justice Jennifer Woollcombe recounted in her ruling that Ritchie killed the 29-year-old woman by trying to decapitate her.
He was arrested later that day and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder two years later.
The defence for Ritchie asked the court to consider his treatment at Maplehurst in the sentencing, and asked that his parole ineligibility period be shortened to 10 years.
An agreed statement of facts in the case states that crisis intervention staff responded to an inmate's assault on a correctional officer in December 2023 by conducting strip searches of the inmates in Ritchie's unit and placing zip ties on their wrists.
Court heard Ritchie was left wearing only his boxer shorts for approximately 37 hours.
Woollcombe said during her ruling on Thursday that some of Ritchie's Charter rights were violated during the incident but she rejected the request to shorten parole ineligibility to 10 years.
The killing of Virgioni is "factually one of the most gruesome and horrific second-degree murder cases" she has encountered during her decade of experience as a judge, Woollcombe said.
She said the ineligibility period should be 20 to 22 years based on the circumstances of the case, but that she would reduce the ineligibility period to 18 years because of the rights violations.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2025.
Maan Alhmidi, The Canadian Press
