A Canadian court has sentenced a former pastor to 15 years in prison after he was found guilty for the death of his pregnant Filipina wife in 2011, an online report said Monday. A report on Mirror said although Philip Grandine was charged with first-degree murder, he was found guilty of manslaughter as Superior Court Justice Robert Clark ruled that it couldn’t be proven that the accused planned the killing of his wife, Anne Karissa Grandine.
Investigators said Karissa drowned in a bathtub after Philip put a highly-potent sedative in her drink. At that time, she was 29 years old and five months pregnant.
A separate report on CBC News said the defense argued that Karissa’s death was either an accident or suicide, but the court took into consideration the fact that Philip, 25, a nurse at a retirement home, had access to sedatives. It also pointed out that his training would’ve allowed him to perform CPR on Karissa before his 911 call.
The Mirror report, citing autopsy results, said Karissa had powerful sedative Lorazepam or Ativan.
Affair
The prosecution said Philip, who pleaded not guilty and refused to take the stand during his trial in December 2014, killed Karissa so he could continue his affair with another woman.
Karissa was pronounced dead at a hospital on October 17, 2011 after she was brought there by paramedics who responded to a call regarding a woman in medical distress.
Philip, meanwhile, was a pastor at a local church accused of having an affair with one of his parishioners. The report on Mirror said his other woman testified during the trial that he continued to sleep with her months after Karissa’s death.
Mirror also said Philip was into online pornography, and had looked up local escort services despite undergoing marriage counseling with Karissa.
“True example of a saint”
Friends and family who cherished Karissa called her a “true example of a saint,” a separate report on Toronto Star said. Even when her husband’s adultery was discovered, Karissa reportedly forgave him and his mistress, identified as Eileen Florentino.
Karissa, who nicknamed her unborn child Jellybean, reportedly worked extra jobs so she may study at the University of Toronto for a degree in biology and archeology. Toronto Star said she also battled a long-time liver illness and served as an inspiration for members of her church.
Outright condemnation
Relatives and friends of Karissa from the Ennerdale Baptist Church had nothing but condemnation for Philip’s crime, with Toronto Sun quoting church leader Cliff McDowell in a report as calling him a “coward” in court.
Deacon Robert Steeves even told the publication that he was ashamed for falling to notice the “despicable things” the man did.
Meanwhile, Anthony Refrente, Karissa’s cousin, said Philip’s actions made her death “incomprehensible, unjustifiable, and outright evil.”
Karissa’s mother Maria Darvin blasted Philip’s “terrible act of violence” and said it was done “against God, Karissa, her unborn baby, and the rest of society.”
The Toronto Sun report said Maria Darvin brought Karissa and her sister to Canada from the Philippines in 1994.(R. Takumi, KBK, GMA)