WARNING: This article contains graphic details that may disturb some readers.
A 60-year-old Bruce Mines man has been sentenced to 11-and-a-half years in prison for the brutal murder of a Sault Ste. Marie woman whose lifeless body was discovered under a Kawartha Lakes dock — in front of her murderer’s cottage — in the summer of 2021.
Norman May was initially convicted of manslaughter in connection with the death of 65-year-old Shirley Hatley in November of last year.
In the written reasons for sentencing, Ontario Superior Court Justice Michelle Fuerst said Hatley’s life came to a “sudden and tragic end” when May killed her by assaulting and strangling her at his cottage — all before making a “crude attempt to dispose of her body by dumping it in the lake off his dock.”
May and Hatley began dating in late 2020 after meeting online. The relationship had its “ups and downs,” Fuerst wrote, in the months leading up to the Sault woman’s death.
The statement of facts revealed that Hatley joined May at his cottage in Kawartha Lakes on the morning of July 11, 2021. “Several days earlier the two had argued, accusing each other of being unfaithful,” according to court documents. “They had declared the relationship at an end, but then reconciled.”
That evening, May ended up drinking with a male neighbour. Hatley went to bed, leaving the two men to continue drinking. The neighbour eventually left the cottage in the early morning hours, leaving May and Hatley alone.
A police investigation revealed that May used his cellphone at 4:46 a..m. to send the following message to a third person: “Well she’s deaf [sic] who’s next.”
May then proceeded to leave an almost indecipherable voicemail message for his neighbour a few minutes later.
At approximately 7:20 a.m., a father and son who were out fishing discovered Hatley’s body in the water, partially under the dock in front of May’s cottage.
Police discovered clumps of Hatley’s hair inside the cottage, along with a small quantity of her blood that was found on a disconnected toilet in the primary bedroom. A small amount of her blood was found on May’s left hand, his leg cast, and the front of his T-shirt.
The post-mortem examination revealed that Hatley suffered numerous injuries, including ruptured blood vessels in the face and bruising to the face. There were also severe injuries to Hatley’s neck including neck muscle hemorrhage and bone and cartilage fractures. Blunt injuries to the torso included a broken collar bone, broken vertebra and sternum, in addition to broken ribs on both sides of her chest.
The official cause of Hatley's death was listed as neck compression.
Hatley was described by family members in victim impact statements as a “loving, kind, and considerate person who was a ray of sunshine in all lives she touched.”
During the sentencing, Fuerst listed a number of aggravating factors, including intimate partner and breach of trust due to the fact that she was a guest in his home.
The Superior Court Justice also noted the brutal nature of Hatley’s death, as well as the way in which May disposed of her body, which was considered to be a “form of desecration.”
“She was beaten by a man twice her size so viciously that multiple bones in her body were broken, making it more difficult for her to breathe,” Fuerst wrote. “In addition, she was strangled, which is a particularly cruel means of causing death.”
A prior criminal record containing violent crimes and offences reflecting alcohol abuse were also considered aggravating factors in May’s sentencing.
A number of mitigating factors, including May expressing remorse and the fact that he elected to proceed without a trial — he initially pleaded not guilty because he couldn’t remember the events of that morning — were also considered in the sentencing.
The Bruce Mines man was subsequently sentenced to 11-and-a-half years in jail, less pre-sentence custody of 1284 days, credited at one-and-a-half days for each day served. That leaves a remaining sentence of six years, one month and 24 days that May has left to serve.