Mother of Newmarket woman shot to death outraged by killer’s sentence

The mother of a woman fatally shot by her boyfriend reacts to his nine-year sentence.

Warning: Readers may find the details in this article upsetting. This article contains profanity.

Shannon Payne was reduced to tears when her daughter’s killer was sentenced Wednesday inside a Newmarket courtroom.

Alex Jolly will spend nine years behind bars for the death of Payne’s daughter, 22-year-old Nikki Mercer.

Mercer died two and a half years ago with a single gunshot to the stomach in the doorway of Jolly’s Prospect Street home in Newmarket.

“I think it’s absolutely crazy. It’s upsetting. I’m disgusted in our justice system,” said Payne. “Nine years is absolute bullshit considering he took the life of my daughter.”

Jolly, who turns 26 next month, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in August for fatally shooting the young mother who was in a relationship with him at the time of her death.

The court heard Mercer died of blood loss moments after she was shot. Jolly told those in the home not to say anything about what had happened and fled the scene.

As part of an Agreed Statement of Facts read by the Crown, the court heard Jolly and a group of friends were in his room the night of July 29, 2022, drinking and doing cocaine when Mercer returned to the home at about 1:30 a.m. and knocked on the door.

Following a brief argument with Jolly, Mercer, the court heard, was shot by Jolly using a .22 calibre sawed-off rifle. After being on the run for six weeks, Jolly was initially charged with second-degree murder.

In providing her decision, Justice Michelle Fuerst cited a pre-sentence report saying Jolly had a rough upbringing, started drinking and smoking marijuana by the age of 12 and left home at 16.

He had an adult criminal record with three counts of assault, including domestic violence. Jolly, the court heard, was a known drug dealer at the time of Mercer’s death.

The court heard Jolly has been diagnosed with PTSD and is haunted by what he’s done.

The Crown asked for him to be sentenced to between seven and 12 years. The defence sought a sentence of five to eight years in prison.

Fuerst said Jolly’s “moral blame worthiness is very high” and he is “solely responsible for shooting and killing Mercer.” The judge added Jolly had a propensity for violence; especially against intimate relationship partners.

The judge called Jolly’s actions “cold, callous and cowardly” and said he demonstrated “no empathy” for Mercer; whose mother said justice for her daughter was not served.

“I hope you rot in hell. Karma is a b*tch. I hate you,” Payne said is what she’d like to tell Jolly. “I’ll never forgive you, ever.”

Jolly was credited with pre-sentence custody amounting to with three years and seven months. He is scheduled to be released from prison in about five years and five months.