Man who killed Nicole Porciello set to be sentenced

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — A man who admitted to stabbing his former girlfriend nearly 50 times before killing her by crashing his car in Burnaby will be sentenced next month.

Jan Poepl has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the killing of Nicole Porciello, who also went by Hasselmann.

The charge carries an automatic life sentence but the court will decide how long it will be before Poepl is eligible for parole. In a two-day hearing that concluded Thursday, Crown argued for 15 years while defence argues for 10 — the minimum.

Porciello, 34, was a special education assistant and a mother who left behind a 10-year-old son. A message shared on social media after her murder described her as a “bright candle” that was blown out but that will “forever shine” in people’s hearts.

“She brought joy, happiness and positive enlightenment to everyone she encountered. She had nothing but kindness and unconditional love for family and friends,” it read.

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Porciello was found dead inside an SUV that was deliberately crashed into a lampstand on the Barnet Highway in November of 2018. The day before her funeral, Poepl was arrested. The court learned that before the crash, Poepl recorded a video of Nicole as she lay dying.

Poepl will be sentence on April 13.