Anthony Santos Del Rosario has been sentenced to serve 8.5 years in prison for the brutal killing of his aunt in her North Vancouver apartment.
Justice Warren Milman handed down his decision in B.C. Supreme Court on Thursday morning.
Del Rosario, 48, was originally charged with second-degree murder after he killed Dominga Santos on the morning of Dec. 13, 2022 in a third-floor apartment on the 200 block of West Third Street.
Del Rosario originally pleaded not guilty. Following a psychiatric assessment, experts determined Del Rosario was in a state of psychosis induced by crystal methamphetamine at the time of the killing and his charge was downgraded to manslaughter, to which he entered a guilty plea on April 25.
History of drug use
Recounting life events leading up to the killing of his aunt, Milman described a history of drug use that began with Del Rosario first using crystal meth while studying nursing in the Philippines before immigrating to Canada in 1997.
After settling in North Vancouver, he had several relationships with women who later said that Del Rosario would act erratically when high, and was aggressive at times, the court heard.
In 2009, he climbed onto the roof of his aunt’s home and threatened to kill himself. He was arrested and taken to hospital.
Following that incident, he returned to the Philippines to undergo treatment. That led to a period of abstinence that lasted over a decade, Milman said.
But after being offered meth by chance in September 2022, his drug use escalated again and he began to experience hallucinations. On Dec. 7, 2022, he was arrested and committed under the Mental Health Act after he was seen punching the air and jumping on cars near the Northshore Auto Mall, the court heard.
Five days later, Del Rosario smoked meth in his car and was arrested again for causing a disturbance at the McDonald’s on Westview Drive. After spending time in cells at the North Vancouver RCMP detachment, where police observed him acting strangely, he was released when they believed he had sobered up.
He then phoned his aunt, asking if he could stay at her apartment. She agreed, and made a spot for him to sleep on the floor. Once there, he said he felt the "presence of the undead" but eventually went to sleep.
According to Del Rosario’s conversations with psychiatrists, he claimed he saw what he thought was the devil, serpent or ghost trying to kill him or suck his blood. He began fighting with it, but said at some point, he realized it was his 68-year-old aunt, the court heard.
Neighbours called 911 to report strange sounds coming from the apartment. Officers found Santos in a pool of blood in her kitchen, with Del Rosario on top of her.
Police arrested Del Rosario and he was transferred to Lions Gate Hospital, where traces of methamphetamine were found in his urine, Milman said.
Del Rosario told police to prepare papers for his own cremation because he had killed his aunt, the court heard.
Previous drug use did not suggest accused was capable of the brutal killing, judge says
Psychiatrists concluded that Del Rosario was likely suffering from meth-induced psychosis at the time of the offence, which probably caused him to believe that he was defending himself from being killed, Milman acknowledged in court.
For his crime of manslaughter, the Crown sought 10 years' imprisonment, emphasizing the brutality of the killing and Del Rosario’s choice to use crystal meth, despite the negative impacts it had on his life in the past.
But the defence said Del Rosario should serve a term of five to six years, arguing that there was no clear motive and that the accused could not have foreseen the severity of his actions given his past drug use.
Milman said the brutality of the attack was an aggravating factor in his decision.
“The deceased appears to have suffered terribly before she died. In her agony, she begged Mr. Del Rosario to stop what he was doing because she feared she was going to die,” he said.
Santos was also a vulnerable victim who trusted Del Rosario and took him in when no one else would, Milman said.
“She paid the ultimate price for her generosity to him,” he said.
A mitigating factor was Del Rosario’s genuine remorse for his actions, which included a promise to never take drugs again.
“He had little reason to believe that the relapse would lead to the kind of behavior that ultimately occurred, for which there was really no precedent or warning,” Milman said. “His previous hallucinations and even episodes of aggression did not suggest that he was capable of anything like what he did on Dec. 13, 2022.”
Del Rosario has been in custody since his 2022 arrest. After receiving credit for time served, he is set to serve another six years and two months in prison.
