THUNDER BAY — Cameron Adomko has been sentenced to life imprisonment and ineligibility for parole for 17 years.
This was the ruling of Justice Robin Lepere of the Superior Court of Justice on Tuesday.
Adomko was found guilty of second-degree murder for his role in the death of his stepmother, Darlene Giba in June, 2023.
After he was brought into the courtroom and before Justice Lepere began reading her ruling, Adomko declared that he was discharging his defence lawyer, Michael Hargadon.
However, discharging his lawyer had no effect on Tuesday’s proceeding.
The consideration of ineligibility for parole fell on the higher side of the scale of subsets of egregious crime cases where the offender has a moral duty to protect, such as a spouse, a child, a parent, a domestic partner, she explained.
The gravity of the sentencing, according to Justice Lepere, was appropriate given the fact that Giba was killed in her home, a place where she should have been safe, as well as the clear abuse of trust that Adomko’s actions betrayed.
The abuse of a position of trust, the community’s shock and horror and the devastating effect on the victim’s family were major considerations in her decision, said Lepere.
Adomko’s conduct after the act of violence was also indicative, according to Justice Lepere, of the seriousness of the case. He robbed the victim, took her car, and attempted to conceal the evidence.
Lepere said that following the jury trial, 9 of the 12 jurors recommended 25 years of parole ineligibility. Sentencing for a person who has been convicted of second-degree murder carries a punishment of life imprisonment without eligibility for parole for a minimum of 10 years and no more than 25 years.
Giba, 67, was found dead in her East Mary Street home on June 27, 2023. She died from incised wounds (cuts) to the neck that severed her carotid artery, causing rapid blood loss.
Throughout the nearly three-week trial at the Thunder Bay Courthouse in October, the jury heard how Adomko and a second person, Johnna Sonego, walked to Giba’s home that morning to borrow money.
The defence conceded that Adomko was in the home when Giba was fatally stabbed but pointed the finger at Sonego, saying she was the one who killed Giba while the Crown argued Sonego would not have been physically capable of causing Giba’s injuries.
The jury returned with a guilty verdict on Oct. 30, 2025.
Sonego was initially charged with second-degree murder but later pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of accessory after the fact.
