A Newmarket man has been sentenced to seven years in prison in the death of a Markham woman whose body wasn’t found until nearly eight months after she was first Bahis Siteleri reported missing.
Jerry Tang, 21, who pleaded guilty last month to manslaughter, softly told court Wednesday that he was “sorry about the death” of Annie Li, whose remains were discovered in a suitcase at Earl Bales Park in North York.
“He treated Annie Li and her body like trash by throwing her out in a public park,” Crown attorney Rob Scott said.
Court was told that Tang hired Li, who worked occasionally as a sex worker, on June 12. The pair headed to his mother’s condominium at Yonge St. and Sheppard Ave. Tang’s mother was in China visiting his father.
According to Tang, he fell asleep after they had sex, only waking up when Li began slapping him and demanding money. Li, 36, claimed she was pregnant, and that she would tell his mother if he refused to pay.
After the struggle escalated, he said he held her down with his elbow on her throat, the force of which caused her death.
In a panic, Tang said he loaded Li’s body into a suitcase and brought it to the park at Bathurst St. and Sheppard Ave. E., leaving it out near its popular walking trails.
Li’s brother Jet Hu played a big part in helping police track down Tang, locating his sister’s cellphone by using the “find my phone” app.
After an investigation, police charged Tang with manslaughter on Sept. 1 but she was still missing. On Jan. 6, Tang pleaded guilty in court and showed police where the body was.
In his touching victim impact statement, Hu described the heart-wrenching emotions his family has gone through.
“When Annie was first captured, my father would get on his bicycle every morning and go out looking for her,” he told court. “My mother sat at home waiting and waiting for my father to come home to see if he had found her. This horror is always on my mind, which is always grinding, non-stop, trying to untangle this terrible mystery.”
He said that since her death, his mother has contemplated suicide and his father has been left a shell of the man he was.
“What cuts deepest is that, even though this man pleaded guilty, he has shown no sorrow, remorse or guilt for what he has done to Annie,” he said. “It is stinging salt to our already blistering wound, to witness the callous indifference he holds.”
The judge, Crown and defence agreed that Tang should serve seven years in prison, minus credit for time served, meaning six years and four months remain. He will be deported back to China, where his parents are living, when he’s released.
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