For 17 years Chad Reu-Waters, 48, of Jarvis, Ont. concealed the dead body of his former business partner in a freezer. On Tuesday morning he was sentenced to life in prison for a conviction of second-degree murder, and is not eligible for parole for 17 years. Justice Kirk Munroe delivered the verdict in a St. Thomas, Ont. courtroom, nearly 39 months after Rue-Waters first entered Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre (EMDC). The court heard how Reu-Waters strangled Ashley Pereira, 33, of Mississauga in a Guelph, Ont. storage unit, then hid the body in freezer. He would move the freezer from place to place, then from jail in 2019, ordered his son to dispose of it. With the assistance of two of his friends, Reu-Waters’ son dumped the freezer over the lakeside cliffs of Port Burwell, Ont. Rue-Waters’ involvement in the murder was later uncovered by police. “All murders are horrific,” Justice Munroe said during sentencing. Munroe continued, “All murders cause pain and grief from the loved ones of the deceased. This murder is so different. What is different and what is aggravating is the manner and length and concealing the body over 17 years. This not only frustrated with any investigation of the crime, but had a significant impact on his [Pereira’s] parents for almost two decades day after day after day, having no awareness whether he was alive or dead.” Munroe also read part of a victim impact statement provided by Pereira’s family during sentencing. “For 17 years, we hoped, we prayed, we waited for our Ashley to come back to us, to knock on the door, to walk in, to say he is home,” read a statement from his parents, Muriel and Dennis Perreira. Reu-Waters will be given credit for time served, so will be eligible for parole in under 14 years. The Crown was seeking 18 years before parole eligibility, the top end of the range, stressing his extensive criminal record, and callousness in concealing the body. The defence was looking for 12 to 13 years before parole eligibility. Reu-Waters was also sentenced to three years for causing indignity to a body.
