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“The damage that this kind of crime does tears all the family apart,” Denomey said following the hearing. “If you heard the victim impact statements coming from every angle you’d see.

“Lacey had the most beautiful smile, she was a fun-loving person, just wanted to be the best mother and a good person. She was a good person and was my baby at one time.”

Iovinelli said his client was always willing to take responsibility for what he did, but he was looking at life with no parole for at least 10 years, and that was too much.

“We offered manslaughter for over a year,” Iovinelli said outside court. “Unfortunately, the Crown wasn’t in a position to accept that. They thought the moral culpability of Mr. Del Campo was higher.

“Just in the last month there was a change in evidence and they accepted.”

Photo by Daryl Slade / Calgary Herald

Iovinelli said the change was in regard to a statement his client had made that was likely not going to be admitted into evidence.

He said his client, who is originally from the Philippines and does not have Canadian citizenship, has been issued with a deportation order. But he said Del Campo will likely contest the order.

In an agreed statement of facts read into the record by Kondro, Del Campo admitted that he had parked his car at the shopping centre in the 100 block of 42nd Avenue S.E. at 1:40 p.m. that day, and that he and Manion were in the vehicle for 7 1/2 minutes before she exited.

While standing at the passenger’s side door, Manion sprayed pop into the vehicle, then walked away while he sat in the driver’s seat.