The man suspected of murdering Samantha Higgins has a history of being in trouble with the law.
Court documents reveal that 22-year-old Nicholas Fontanelli, who was engaged to Higgins and father to her two children, was charged in connection to a 2010 robbery.
In December of that year, Fontanelli and two friends followed an individual off a city bus. Fontanelli was armed with a taser and a pellet gun, which he pointed at the victim’s head.
The three got away with about $60, an iPod and a cell phone.
In audio recordings from a December 2013 court appearance, Fontanelli’s defence attorney, Jean-Marc Tremblay, can be heard describing his client as a young man with developmental delays and learning disabilities.
During that hearing, the crown prosecutor told Fontanelli he’d traumatized his victim, to which Fontanelli replied that he understood.
“I have learned a lot (about) being able to distinguish morals, as to right and wrong,” he said at the time.
He admitted to the crime shortly after learning Higgins was pregnant, saying that he panicked and that there was a custody battle after his daughter was born.
Because he pled guilty, he avoided jail time and instead received a suspended sentence and two years probation.
Fontanelli was charged with first degree murder for Higgins’ death on Tuesday.
