A local man gets three years for a “brutal” attack on his terminally ill partner

A retired engineer was sentenced to three years in prison for the May 2022 domestic assault of his terminally ill partner, which occurred at their shared Barrie home.

Chandreka Ballmick, 63, showed no emotion as Judge Jodie-Lynn Waddilove handed down the sentence on Monday after finding him guilty of four charges, including forcible confinement and aggravated assault.

“Intimate partner violence in all its forms is disturbing,” Waddilove said, handing down a sentence that was the maximum the Crown had sought.

The details of this case are disturbing, but all too familiar in intimate partner violence cases.

The court heard Ballmick became angry because the victim, who is now in the final stages of the disease and close to death, allowed his nephew to stay overnight at the house.

According to a statement she ultimately gave to police, which was admitted into evidence at trial, she woke up in the early morning hours and found herself handcuffed to a fixed object in the house. She was then beaten with a chipboard that Ballmick was holding.

The court found that her injuries included two broken ribs, as well as cuts, bruises and abrasions all over her body.

The attack was revealed after calling 911, but no one spoke when the operator answered.

A Barrie Police Officer arrived on scene and observed evidence of an attack on the victim’s hands and wrists.

A follow-up call later that morning led to a more detailed description of the woman’s assault and injuries.

“(Ballmick’s) actions were brutal and deliberate,” Waddilove said.

The judge was particularly concerned by the delay and initial refusal of treatment immediately after the attack, and by the fact that the victim did not receive care until much later, in hospital.

Ballmick, who did not speak during Monday’s meeting, asked for a full discharge.

Waddilove said it was “not actually a sentence at all,” while denying his request for clemency and instead handing down a sentence entirely in line with the three years proposed by Crown lawyer Julie Janiuk.

“There are no mitigating factors,” Waddilove said, pointing out that Ballmick did not engage in any pre-sentence activities, programs or reports that could have lessened the penalties imposed on defendants who were found guilty.

Another characteristic of domestic violence cases is that the victim recanted her original testimony at trial, claiming instead that she handcuffed herself and then fell down the stairs, causing her injuries.

Waddilove rejected this evidence as illogical in finding Ballmick guilty and repeated it again in sentencing.

“I found her injuries to be disturbing… The photos are clear and consistent with her original statement,” the judge said.

Waddilove also imposed a lifetime weapons and contact ban and forced Ballmick to provide a sample of his DNA to a national database.

He was given credit for the 10 days already served, which were increased to 15 days in accordance with the guidelines for pre-trial detention.

Upon learning that there was no officer in court to arrest Ballmick, the judge ordered a bailiff to be called to take him to jail.

After the hearing, the officer placed handcuffs on Ballmick’s wrists and took him into custody.