A Glace Bay man apologized to the family of Laura Jessome as he was sentenced yesterday for being an accessory after the fact in her murder. 51 year-old Robert Edwin Matheson was given a 3 and a half year sentence after pleading guilty to the charge in September. However, he’ll only likely spend four and a half months in a provincial jail after being given credit for time served in custody. Two other Glace Bay men, 39 year-old Thomas Ted Barrett and 23 year-old Morgan James MacNeil are charged with second-degree murder in the Bras d’Or woman’s death. In an agreed statement of facts, Matheson says he had several visits from Barrett who was his neighbour in May of 2012. He claims Barrett told him McNeil had picked a girl up from detox and killed her after she refused to have sex with him. Matheson went on to say Barrett asked to borrow his car in order to move Jessome’s body which was later found in a hockey bag in the Mira River. Matheson says he later agreed to act as the driver because he was afraid Barrett might smash his car and the police would find the body and implicate him. Matheson also says he was afraid of Barrett who he describes as a dangerous man.
