BARRIE -- Brian Quesnel and Martin Forget were sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for another 22 years after being found guilty of first-degree murder.
"For you, Mr. Forget, June 8. 2042, and for you Mr. Quesnel, June 16, 2042. You can mark those dates in your calendar," stated Justice Joseph Di Luca.
The two men stood trial for the death of Joe Simonds, who was gunned down and left for dead outside his Orillia home in the early morning hours on June 4, 2017. He later died in the hospital.
Diana Simonds, the victim's mother, said the sentencing brings a sense of relief and justice for Joe.
"It doesn't' bring my son back, but at least they won't have much of a life now that they're doing life in jail."
The trial lasted for four weeks and revealed how Quesnel, Forget, and Sonny Brokenshire conspired to kill Joe Simonds following accusations the deceased sexually assaulted a minor related to one of the men.
Simonds was cleared of any wrongdoing related to those allegations.
In January, Brokenshire pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced to five years behind bars in exchange for his testimony against Quesnel and Forget.
During the four-week trial, the court heard the three men spoke about how Simonds 'needed to be dealt with.'
The jury took a day and a half to reach a guilty verdict.
Justice Di Luca addressed Quesnel and Forget in court, saying, "The irony, in this case, is that the very due process that was extended to you was not something that either of you saw fit to extend to Joe Simonds. You appointed yourselves investigators, judge, jury and executioner of Joe Simonds, and for that, you will remain in custody, likely, for the rest of your lives."
"I will be at those parole hearings and make sure that they never, ever get out of jail. That is my promise to Joe absolutely," vowed Diana.
Quesnel and Forget will be in their mid-60s by the time they are eligible for parole in 2042.