November 27, 2001: Bruce Firman, age 72, a renowned St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada real estate agent, was beaten to death in the garage of the house he shared with his estranged common-law wife, Margaret Benesch. Bruce had met a new love interest, Joan, and was going through a contentious divorce from Margaret. Bruce feared both Margaret and his step-daughter Elizabeth Gatenby, and with good reason. In the end, it was discovered that Elizabeth Gatenby hired her teenage son Byron Gatenby and one of his friends, Tommy Nicol, to murder Bruce Firman. Elizabeth Gatenby was convicted of first-degree murder in May 2006 and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. The trials for Byron and Tommy were held separately. Byron Gatenby confessed to conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced to six years in prison. Tommy confessed to first-degree murder and was also sentenced to six years in prison.
