Mitchell Brooks addressed a Barrie judge Monday saying he will never ask for forgiveness for the "unforgivable" death of his wife Deena.
"Not a day goes by that the responsibility for Deena's death doesn't weigh me down," Brooks said. "It's not something that I will ever be able to get out from under."
Brooks spoke at the end of a day-long sentencing hearing after he was convicted of manslaughter earlier this month.
Crown attorney David Russell told the judge that Brooks should get an eight-year sentence.
In his sentencing submissions, Russell said Brooks' suicide attempt the night Deena was killed was an "emotional power play" to keep Deena in their marriage and instead Deena "ends up dead on the floor of their foyer."
The defence is seeking a sentence of time served for Brooks, who has been in segregation by his own choice for safety reasons at the Central North Correctional Centre since May 25, 2013.
Among mitigating factors, lawyer Kim Miles noted Brooks' depression and the fact that he wanted to accept responsibility for his actions at an early stage.
"Mr. Brooks offered to plead to manslaughter but that was rejected by the Crown," Miles said in her submissions.
Brooks had pleaded not guilty to first degree murder in the May 24, 2013 shooting of Deena at their New Lowell home.
A jury found Brooks guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.
Miles read out a letter from Brooks' 20-year old daughter Kristin who was at her high school prom when her mother was shot.
"I lost my mom but I don't have to lose my dad too," she wrote.
"I want to have my dad back. I will always think what happened to my mom was an accident."
Crown attorney Russell dismissed Brooks' offer to plead guilty as simply "pre-trial discussions that went nowhere" and that Brooks "rolled the dice" on an possible acquittal at trial.
Russell read out victim impact statements from Deena's best friend, her two brothers, her eldest daughter and her mother.
"A child should not die before a parent," wrote Frieda Balser of the death of her only daughter.
Mitchell and Deena's oldest daughter Cayley wrote in her victim impact statement that she is devastated by the fact she and her mom were fighting when Deena died.
"She died thinking I was mad at her," Cayley said, adding she couldn't understand why her mother wanted a divorce. "I will never get the chance to make things right with her. I hope that wherever she is, she knows how sorry I am."
Justice Guy DiTomaso will release his decision on June 29.
