A timeline of the Aidan and Angus Kee trial

Aidan Kee back in court Tuesday The Guelph man convicted of manslaughter in the death of Nick Tanti was back in court Tuesday. Stephanie Villella reports.

In February of 2020, Nick Tanti, 27, was fatally stabbed outside of a downtown Guelph bar on MacDonnell Street around 2 a.m.

He was taken to hospital where he later died from his injuries.

Brothers Aidan and Angus Kee were identified by police as the two involved in the stabbing, and both initially faced first-degree murder charges for their alleged involvement.

Over the past two and a half years, the brothers have seen their days in court and the final steps in the sentencing hearing are slated for October.

The timeline of the trial and the evolution of the charges are as follows:

Feb. 29, 2020

Nick Tanti, 27, was stabbed outside of a bar in Guelph. Police were called to Tony’s Billiards on MacDonnell Street where they found Tanti suffering from a stab wound.

Tanti was transported to Guelph General Hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.

A 22-year-old man and 26-year-old man, both from Guelph, were taken into custody pending a bail hearing. They were due to appear in court at a later date.

March 2, 2020

Aidan, 26, and Angus Kee, 22, made brief, separate appearances over video in the courtroom. Both brothers were charged with first-degree murder in the death of Tanti.

At the time, the two were being held at Maplehurst Correctional Complex pending their next trial date.

March 7, 2020

The funeral for Tanti was held in Guelph.

A visitation was held at Basilica of our Lady Immaculate in Guelph, followed by a funeral service.

July 15, 2020

Aidan was granted bail for $104,000.

Protestors rallied outside the Guelph courthouse following the decision.

At the time, Tanti’s family said a tree would be planted in his memory at the Wall-Custance Memorial Forest at the University of Guelph’s arboretum.

May 16, 2022

The trial of the Kee brothers began. The charges had been changed from first-degree murder to lesser crimes.

Aidan was now on trial for second-degree murder, while Angus was on trial for manslaughter and accessory after the fact.

May 22, 2022

Angus was granted bail during an audio hearing. His bail was set for $75,000.

Aidan remained in custody.

May 30, 2022

The Crown dropped the manslaughter charges against Angus, saying there was no possibility of conviction on that count, but kept the charges of accessory after the fact in place.

In court, Aidan recounted the events leading up to Tanti’s death. Holding back tears, Aidan told the court he never intentionally opened the knife blade, saying, “Nick was my friend, I would never try to stab him.”

June 3, 2022

Closing arguments began.

During the trial, video of the moments leading up to Tanti's death was shown.

Aidan and his brother Angus could be seen walking outside the MacDonell Street bar when Tanti appeared. The brothers turned around, then Tanti pushed and punched Aidan. The physical altercation continued and then the video showed Tanti walking away and going into the bar while Aidan was outside, holding a knife in his right hand.

June 6, 2022

After three weeks of testimony, jury deliberations began.

Aidan was on trial for second-degree murder, while his younger brother Angus was charged with accessory after the fact.

The judge told the jury during the trial, there’s no denying Aidan caused Tanti’s death. The question now was whether it was intentional.

June 8, 2022

The jury reached a verdict.

After one day of deliberations, the jury found Aidan not guilty of second-degree murder, but guilty of manslaughter.

Angus was found not guilty on his count of accessory after the fact.

June 9, 2022

The sentencing date for Aidan was set for later in the year. He was allowed to remain on bail until the sentencing.

Sept. 27, 2022

The sentencing submission began.

Victim impact statements are read, including one from Tanti’s mother Sharon who said her son's death has taken away her joy, saying “there’s no happiness,” her anxiety keeps her from sleeping and she cries all the time.

Nov. 3, 2022

Judge Gordon Lemon sentenced Aidan to three years, five months and seven days in prison.

Lemon said he took the 137 days Kee had already spent in custody into consideration in determining the sentencing.

The defence argued that 33 of those days should count for more as they were in full or partial lockdown because of COVID-19 protocols. Judge Lemon said that did factor into his decision in determining reductions.

The reduction of time served then worked out to roughly a year.