Tears flowed in a Windsor courtroom Tuesday morning as a local woman confessed to her role in a savage city slaying last spring.
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But Nzingha Plumb, who repeatedly apologized to family and friends of the deceased during a brief address to the court, couldn’t answer their biggest question:
Where is Dalton Bartnik?
Plumb, 25, was unable to help provide closure to family and friends of the father of two young boys, reportedly last seen on March 31. Despite public appeals from police, his remains have yet to be recovered. Seven people would eventually be arrested and charged in connection to what police say was murder.
During a hearing before Superior Court Justice Pamela Hebner, Plumb, originally charged with first-degree murder, pleaded guilty to a count of accessory to murder for her role. Assistant Crown attorney Meredith Gardiner told the court there has been “no evidence she participated in the killing, she saw the killing or she knew of the killing.”
Gardiner, who added there was also no evidence Plumb knows the location of Bartnik’s remains, was responding in part to the anguish expressed by family and friends in written victim impact statements read out in court.
“You have no remorse,” Bartnik’s younger sister Chelsea Chalut told Plumb, seated nearby next to her lawyer.
“If you had any decency, you’d at least give us his remains back.”
Tuesday’s hearing, which including a joint submission by Gardiner and defence lawyer Robert DiPietro Jr. calling for an 18-month conditional sentence, revealed for the first time details of what police and prosecution believe were Bartnik’s last hours.
Gruesome details of Bartnik’s alleged murder, now accepted by the court, were read out by the Crown in an agreed statement of facts.
Plumb and her “romantic partner” Jeffrey Dorman, who resided in the 700 block of Moy Avenue with Daniel Gerow, attended a home in the 2300 block of Louis Avenue sometime between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. last April 1. Residing there, and present that night, were Bartnik, Laura Cook and Joey Guerard. Gerow was also there.
According to Plumb’s statement, she noticed Gerow going to the basement with Bartnik, who appeared “beaten up and bleeding.” There was screaming and the sound of things being thrown around, which continued after her partner Dorman also descended to the basement.
About half an hour later, Dorman came back upstairs and told Plumb “it was time to leave.”
Around 4 a.m., Gerow attended the Moy Avenue residence and asked Plumb for cleaning supplies and the use of Plumb and Dorman’s 2014 silver Dodge Caravan. Plumb would later tell police she believed Gerow had killed Bartnik and needed the cleaning supplies and vehicle “to dispose of evidence of the murder.”
The vehicle was returned a couple hours later, around 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. According to the agreed statement, Gerow showed two photos of Dalton Bartnik to Plumb: “Bartnik was clearly deceased in the photos.”
While acknowledging that conditional sentences “in cases like this” are rare, the Crown’s Gardiner said Plumb “provided significant assistance to the police” and will be a prosecution witness in the upcoming court proceedings involving the other co-accused.
Justice Hebner, who pointed out Plumb “assisted in destroying evidence,” said she will announce her sentence in two weeks. If the judge accepts the joint proposal of the Crown and defence, Plumb’s conditional sentence to be served at home would include the first 12 months on a GPS monitoring device followed by six months with an overnight curfew.
The mother of three young children, who has no prior criminal record, is currently free on bail following 126 days of “real time” in jail since her arrest.
Defence lawyer DiPietro described the “extreme mitigating factors” in the case against his client, including her acceptance of responsibility and providing information that allowed investigators to eliminate some of the suspects.
DiPietro said Plumb had “issues” with methamphetamine and is trying to “move forward from (Windsor’s) drug subculture.” He added his client is “extremely remorseful.”
While acknowledging Bartnik’s own struggles with drugs, the victim impact statements read out in court spoke of nightmares and devastation since his disappearance. They describe a young man, kind and respectful with a contagious laugh and “a heart of gold” who was always willing to help others.
“Our family is forever changed … and we are all at a loss,” said Bartnik’s sister-in-law Katie Westfall.
Accepting the judge’s offer to address the court on her own behalf, Plumb, looking over her shoulder to the large assembly of Bartnik’s loved ones in the public gallery, repeated: “I know there is nothing I can say or do … I am truly sorry.”
As of Monday, a first-degree murder charge against Laura Cook and an accessory to murder after the fact charge against Joey Guerard had been withdrawn by the Crown.
First-degree murder charges are still in the preliminary stages in Ontario Court of Justice for four co-accused — Jeffrey Dorman, Elizabeth Gaudette, Daniel Gerow and Samantha Sweetman.