Almost two years to the day since 50-year-old Yoleidys Vilar Arroyo was fatally stabbed inside the Harbord Street apartment where she lived, her husband stood up in a Toronto courtroom and, through a Spanish interpreter, said that he is sorry for her murder.
“I would like to say I’m truly regretful. Even though this doesn’t change anything, I wish I could go back in time,” Hansel Duarte Quintela said, as Arroyo’s sister sat looking straight ahead in the courtroom, her fingers plugging her ears.
Last month, Duarte Quintela pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and is facing a life sentence. Superior Court Justice Maureen Forestell must now decide on a period of parole ineligibility between 10 and 25 years.
According to an agreed statement of facts, it was May 20, 2023, when Duarte Quintela and Vilar attended a BBQ at the home of Vilar’s sister and brother-in-law.
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The two couples were drinking and playing games. Around 12:30 a.m. on May 21, …