{"id":13527,"date":"2016-03-02T17:18:17","date_gmt":"2016-03-02T22:18:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=13527"},"modified":"2016-03-09T17:32:16","modified_gmt":"2016-03-09T22:32:16","slug":"muzzo-to-be-sentenced-march-29","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/muzzo-to-be-sentenced-march-29\/","title":{"rendered":"Muzzo to be sentenced March 29"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Angela Gismondi and Bill Rea<\/strong><\/p>\n

The fate of Marco Muzzo is in the hands of Justice Michelle Fuerst.
\nFuerst will hand down her sentence March 29.
\nThree days of testimony were given in the case last week in Newmarket. Crown attorney Paul Tait said a 10-to-12-year sentence would send a message.
\nMuzzo pleaded guilty to four counts of impaired driving causing death and two counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm in the deaths of Daniel, Harrison and Milly Neville-Lake, and their grandfather Gary Neville in the September 27, 2015 crash in Vaughan.
\nThe boys were members of Aurora Beavers.
\nMuzzo himself spoke for the first time since his arrest last Wednesday. He delivered a page-long apology to the families of the lives he destroyed.
\nAfter hearing emotional victim impact statements from the Neville-Lake family the day before, Muzzo himself took to the stand last Wednesday to give his statement.
\n\u201cI stand here before you today with great remorse, sympathy and unimaginable regret,\u201d Muzzo began. \u201cAs I listened with horror yesterday to the details of the catastrophic consequences of my actions, I knew that my words would be of no consolation. Ever since the tragedy that occurred as a result of my inexcusable conduct, I have wanted to say that I am sorry and apologize to your family from the bottom of my heart \u2026 I know that there are no actions that can ever change what has happened.\u201d
\nHe expressed wishing he could turn back the hands of time.
\n\u201cI know that there is no steps that I can take to bring back your children Daniel, Harrison, and Milly Neville-Lake and your father Gary Neville. I pray that I could, but I cannot,\u201d Muzzo said. \u201cI wish that I could undo the heartbreaking experiences that your mother, Neriza Neville, and grandmother, Josephina Frias, had to witness and continue to live through. I am tortured by the grief and the pain that I have caused your entire family and the tragic effect that this has had on so many others and its impact upon the community.\u201d
\nHe told the court he will spend the rest of his life atoning for his conduct and devote himself to educating the public on the \u201cdisastrous consequences of drinking and driving.\u201d
\nJennifer Neville-Lake and her husband Edward walked out of the courtroom before they could hear what Muzzo had to say.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t want to listen to the man who is responsible for killing my children,\u201d said Jennifer outside the courthouse. \u201cThere is nothing he can say. His actions spoke louder than words.\u201d
\nIn the courtroom, Crown Attorney Paul Tait said Fuerst has the challenging task of determining a suitable sentence for Muzzo. He said Muzzo had many options that day. He could have taken a taxi or a limo or asked someone to pick him up but instead in an act of \u201cextreme selfishness,\u201d he chose to get behind the wheel.
\n\u201cThis tragedy of almost incomprehensible scope could have been avoided,\u201d Tait stated, adding the Crown deliberately avoided using the word \u201caccident\u201d when describing the crash.
\n\u201cEvery drunk driver makes a choice and in this case the choice resulted in catastrophic consequences for the victim\u2019s family. The next generation of the Neville-Lake family was wiped out in one fell swoop … No sentence fashioned by any court would address this catastrophic loss.\u201d
\nHe suggested a 10- to 12-year penitentiary sentence would be a \u201cfit and proper sentence.\u201d He also said that Fuerst could set a precedent by imposing a higher sentence and pointed out that there is no maximum sentence for impaired driving as each case and the circumstances surrounding it are individualized. He also asked for an eight-to-12-year driving prohibition. That, he noted, would send a strong message.
\nAfter Muzzo read his statement, his lawyer, Brian Greenspan, presented 92 letters of support, from his priest, family, friends and employees. Many of the letters reiterated the idea that Muzzo \u201cis a very good person who made a terrible decision.\u201d
\nGreenspan attempted to show a side of Muzzo that is contrary to how he is portrayed in the media.
\nThe letters described Muzzo as humble, kind, hard-working and always willing to help anyone in need. He said he is \u201cgrief-stricken\u201d and remorseful for his actions which led to the deaths of four people.
\nGreenspan suggested an eight-year sentence would be more in line, especially since Muzzo \u201caccepted responsibility from the first moment and never deviated from that guilty plea.\u201d He pointed out that pleading guilty spared the family having to go through a trial. He added Muzzo has no prior criminal record.
\nIt was a gut-wrenching day in court last Tuesday when Muzzo heard from friends and family of the four people he killed.
\nJennifer spoke for about 40 minutes, frequently pausing to collect herself and dry tears.
\nShe was not alone. Sounds of sniffling could be heard throughout the address.
\nThe children had been visiting their grandparents in King City for a sleep over, and they were being driven home when the tragedy occurred.
\nNeville-Lake recalled the horror of being told her oldest boy and father were dead, and the two younger children were at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, and a surgeon had told them to get there fast. Upon arrival, she said they were told both youngsters were brain dead, and were being kept alive so they would have a chance to say goodbye.
\n\u201cAll of my babies are gone!\u201d she recalled crying out. \u201cNot one left!\u201d
\nShe also remembered having Harry and Milly put together so they could die together.
\nAs well, she remembered not being given information on where Daniel was, knowing only he had died without her.
\nNeville-Lake also recounted the ordeal of lining up 20 pallbearers, choosing the children\u2019s \u201cforever clothing,\u201d and deciding \u201cwhat toys and treasures do we send with them.\u201d
\nShe also reflected on watching the children\u2019s caskets being lowered into the ground, thinking \u201cI want to go with them so badly.\u201d
\nNeville-Lake recalled their house had been a busy place, full of laughter and love, and with the melody of her kids\u2019 shouts and laughing.
\n\u201cShame on you for taking my loves from me,\u201d she told Muzzo, calling her life now a \u201chell on earth.\u201d
\nShe wakes up at 5 in the morning.
\n\u201cI\u2019m listening in vain for my kids to call out my name and I don\u2019t hear them,\u201d she cried. \u201cYou have silenced my children\u2019s voices.\u201d
\n\u201cI sit and stare at the pictures that your drunk driving left me with,\u201d she added. \u201cI miss my kids. I miss my dad. I want my old life back.\u201d
\nNeville-Lake said doctors and therapists are doing their best to keep her alive. She used to make many of the basic things used around the house, like soap, shampoo, bread, etc., but now she needs help with the most basic tasks.
\nThe family table in the kitchen is where Neville-Lake said she taught her children to bake and cook, and where they wrote their letters to Santa Claus.
\n\u201cIt hurts to look at the family table, knowing that our family is dead because of you,\u201d she said to Muzzo.
\nShe added she walks aimlessly around the house, searching for her family.
\nNeville-Lake also said Milly lived a little less than 1,008 days. \u201cI should have had thousands of more days with her,\u201d she said, adding she never really got to know her daughters\u2019 likes and dislikes. She chose colours for the various pallbearers to wear, and had to guess at what Milly\u2019s favourite colour was.
\nThe accident occurred five days before the parents\u2019 10th wedding anniversary, and she said caskets and graves are all they have left to show for those 10 years.
\nNeville-Lake said her husband, once strong and brave, had been reduced to a shadow.
\n\u201cI am drowning in the horror of what your choices have done to me,\u201d she told Muzzo. \u201cI want my kids back. I desperately dream of feeling their little arms around my neck.\u201d
\n\u201cYou drove drunk and killed my family on a clear Sunday in the middle of the afternoon,\u201d she said to Muzzo, adding her name is now associated with his, and she doesn\u2019t know if she can live down the shame of being associated with a drunk driver like him.<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three days of testimony were given in the case last week in Newmarket. Crown attorney Paul Tait said a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-3wb","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-04 00:33:54","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13527"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13527\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}