Three men pleaded guilty Wednesday to the brutal Pierrefonds murder of Simon Lortie just over a year ago.
Lortie, 20, was selling cocaine on the West Island, said the prosecution, and was lured in December 2008 by four men aimed at stealing his drugs and money.
Lortie was dragged into a field and severely beaten, but left alive.
The four men made two anonymous 9-1-1 calls to report the attack, but police didn't find Lortie until he had succumbed to his injuries the following day.
Alex Carlo Mancuso, Alfonso Stewart and Thuvaragan Ganesathesan pleaded guilty Wednesday manslaughter. They will receive 12-year prison terms, minus time served. Of the four, only Mancuso had a criminal record.
The fourth man, Mathieu Lalonde-Fortin, instigated the beating, said police, but testified against his three accomplices. He refuses to plead guilty because he is seeking a better plea-bargain for his cooperation.
The defence says a manslaughter plea-bargain was reasonable because the prosecution couldn't prove the three men intended to kill Lortie.
"The facts seem to be they called to try to save him… They were worried, so they called again," said John Philpot, Ganesathesan's attorney.
