'Sadistic' killer sentenced while in hospital

Horrific, brutal and sadistic. Those were the words a judge and Crown prosecutors used to describe the crimes of a man in southeast New Brunswick. 65-year-old Roger Crosman was sentenced in Moncton for second-degree murder and indignity to a human body. He admitted killing 59-year-old Marlene Crosman on October 12, 2023. The details of the crimes are disturbing. Crosman admits stabbing his wife of 37 years and dismembering her body, leaving notes beside pieces of her body in a trail through their Sackville home. Witnesses called their relationship hostile and abusive, her sons recalling him threatening to kill her if she left him. A friend recalled that in the year before her death, Marlene told her, quote, when they find me dead, I want you to make sure you tell everybody that Roger did it, because it's going to happen. Victim impact statements were read by four people, including one of their sons. Bradley Crosman says he's lost so many future memories with his mother, saying, this cracked my foundation of what it means to be cared for and loved. Others recounted her smile and kindness. Court of King's Bench Justice Maya Hamou imposed the sentence recommended by the Crown, imposing a life sentence with no chance of parole for 24 years. But he may not serve that. He appeared in court by video from a hospital bed. The judge heard he has a terminal cancer diagnosis and, with weeks to live, is applying for medical assistance in dying. Family members were glad the case is over. No, it's been a hard three years, and finally it's over. We'll never forget Marlene. I mean that, you know. That monster probably will be dead in a month or so, hopefully. As she read her sentencing decision, the judge said Marlene Crosman's murder impacted not only her family and friends, the wider community, but also those in the justice system who handled the case, and she appeared to choke up as she called on those people involved to take care of themselves.