Dallas Ly, Toronto man sentenced to life in prison for murder of his mother Tien Ly

An Ontario man convicted of killing and beheading his mother in 2022 has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 13 years.

Superior Court Justice Paul Thomas O'Marra handed down the sentence to Dallas Ly, 23, in a downtown Toronto courtroom on Wednesday, the Crown confirmed to CTV News Toronto.

At the start of his trial in May, Ly admitted to causing the death of his mother, Tien Ly, but pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.

Tien died in March 2022 after being stabbed multiple times at a residence on the corner of Carlaw Avenue and Dundas Street East. She was 46 years old.

Tien Ly, killed in her Leslieville apartment in March 2022, can be seen above. (TPS)

Ly was arrested a few days later, on April 2, near Yonge and Dundas streets.

Last May, Ly testified that on the day his mother died, the two men had argued. Ly had just informed his mother that he intended to move out and go live with his aunt, he told the court. His mother became angry, threatened to kill him and his aunt and hit him, Dallas said. He responded by grabbing a knife and brandishing it at her, he testified.

Tien fell to the ground, Dallas told the court. After realizing he had killed his mother, he returned to his room, where he stayed for several hours. On several occasions during this period the court heard he attempted to call his mother's phone.

Later that day, Dallas decapitated Tien, put his head and dismembered body parts in garbage bags and disposed of them using a cart on Eastern Avenue in Toronto's east end. He testified that he had intended to take the body to Tommy Thompson Park, which he had previously searched for on a browser, but he said he hit a curb and the body started to fall. He abandoned his plan, he told the court, left the body parts on the side of the road and went home.

At trial, Ly's lawyers argued that he had suffered years of abuse from Tien, who he said exerted significant control over his life, and that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from his mother's treatment. The Crown disputed the emergence of the PTSD diagnosis, saying it was the murder that triggered the condition, rather than the years leading up to it.

Prosecutors say Ly killed his mother out of anger and retaliation for her control over her life.

“She was cruel and she mistreated him,” Ly’s attorney, Jessyca Greenwood, told the jury in May. She said that, until the spring of 2022, Ly never retaliated against his mother, describing him as a “soft-spoken” and “mild-mannered” individual.

“He was raised to guard [his mother’s conduct] a secret. He thought it was normal, […] that he deserved it,” Greenwood said.

Crown prosecutor Jay Spare tested that account by asking the jury: “If he didn't intend to kill her, why didn't he do something to stop her from dying?”

“She was lying there in a pool of blood, he didn't try to save her, he didn't call 911, he just went to wash his hands, as if the outcome was what he hoped for,” Spare said in his closing remarks. .

On May 22, the jury returned Ly with its verdict – guilty of second-degree murder – and with it, a life sentence.

The only question at Wednesday's sentencing was how long Ly would have to wait before he could apply for parole. Spare argued that a period of 15 years would be appropriate, while Greenwood asked for between 10 and 12 years.

As part of Wednesday's sentence, Ly was also ordered to take DNA samples and given a lifetime ban on owning weapons. O'Marra also recommended that he receive psychiatric support while incarcerated.