A Bradford man has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering his ex-girlfriend in Innisfil.

Today, Ryan Kovacs was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 16 years. He was convicted of killing Dawn Bailey and then setting her house on fire.

“It gives us closure,” says her father Bruce Bailey. “To drag on for two years is long enough.”

Bruce and Marjorie Bailey may never come to terms with their daughter’s murder but are now looking to move forward. Both the crown and Bailey’s family were hoping for at least 18 years before Kovacs could get parole, but a judge sided with the defence.

“Eighteen years would have been a precedent for the future for everybody that has to go through this. That's the bottom line,” says Bailey. His wife adds, “It's been really rough but I'm glad it’s over.”

In August, Kovacs pleaded guilty to second degree murder. The court heard how in July 2011 an enraged Kovacs drove from Hunstville to Gilford and broke into Bailey's parents' house where she was sleeping in the basement at the time. Kovacs stabbed Bailey multiple times and strangled her while she begged for her life. Kovacs then set the bedroom on fire to cover up the crime. The court also heard how days before the murder Kovacs had sent Bailey a text message saying he would stab her in the heart if she screwed him over and also messaged a friend on Facebook that he was going to hurt someone. Bailey and Kovacs ended their two-year relationship six months before her murder and Bailey had moved on.

When handing down the sentence, Justice Michael Brown says her murder was an “unspeakable tragedy.” Brown calls Bailey a “young vibrant woman who was in the prime of her life.”

“Such violence of a vulnerable woman and a former domestic partner is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our society,” Brown says.

“She was a very generous person,” Bailey says. “She did a lot for her community and she did a lot for him and maybe that was her downfall.”

Kovacs’s family was also in the courtroom but declined to comment. The defence had requested parole after 16 years because Kovacs had pleaded guilty, it was his first criminal offence, and that he was truly sorry for his actions. Kovacs expressed remorse to Bailey's family in the sentence hearing, but it's an apology they don't accept. 

“There's no remorse.  He said it because he had to say it,” Bailey says.

The earliest Kovacs will be eligible for parole will be on July 31, 2027.