Christopher Garnier strangled Catherine Campbell to death in 2015, then dumped her body by a bridge in Halifax, Canada. Now the 30-year-old is serving a life sentence, but he made an unusual—and successful—plea to the court, reports the CBC. Garnier argued that he has PTSD as a result of the murder he committed, and the government is now paying for his treatment. One more twist: The bill is being covered by Veterans Affairs Canada even though Garnier himself is not a vet. His father served in the military, however, and that qualifies him for coverage. "I find it really hard to chew on that we're spending taxpayers' money like that to help someone when we also have veterans that are having a really hard time getting treatment through VAC," says a retired sergeant and activist for veterans' causes.
"It’s the best we can expect in the warm fuzzy manner of sentencing in Canada," writes the aunt of Campbell, 36, who was a Halifax police officer. "Prison sentences are the only thing I admire that the USA does." Garnier's defense team raised the PTSD during a hearing to determine when he would be up for parole, per the Canadian Press. They said the PTSD should be a mitigating factor, and the argument seems to have helped. Garnier is now eligible for parole in about 13 years, on the low side of the 10- to 25-year range. He maintains that he killed Campbell accidentally during rough sex after they'd met at a bar. "The message should be sent that Mr. Garnier should forever be remembered as the person who stole Ms. Campbell’s future for no reason, and then treated her remains like garbage," said prosecutors. (More PTSD stories.)
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