Becky Ophelia Nicholas and Norman Robert Gratton to be sentenced on Dec. 16 in killing of Blackville resident

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A 31-year-old woman pleaded guilty yesterday to an amended charge of being an accessory after the fact to manslaughter in the death of an eldery Blackville man, who was found dead in a Moncton hotel three months ago.

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GREG AGNEW/TIMES & TRANSCRIPT

Becky Ophelia Nicholas appeared before Justice George Rideout in Moncton Court of Queen’s Bench. Rideout ordered a pre-sentence report and ordered her to return on Dec. 16 at 1:30 p.m. for sentencing.

Becky Ophelia Nicholas appeared before Justice George Rideout in Moncton Court of Queen's Bench. Rideout ordered a pre-sentence report and ordered her to return on Dec. 16 at 1:30 p.m. for sentencing.

The charge against Nicholas was amended a day after Norman Robert Gratton, 46, pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter. Gratton was originally charged with murder but pleaded guilty to the reduced charge. Nicholas was charged with being an accessory after to the fact to Gratton's murder charge, but her charge was amended from murder to manslaughter. The charge states that Nicholas assisted Gratton in his escape from the scene of the crime.

The body of Durward Jardine, 76, of Blackville was found in a room at the Colonial Inn on Highfield Street in Moncton around noon on Aug. 18. Police gathered evidence and spoke to witnesses and learned the identities of suspects in the killing were a 46-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman from Miramichi, who fled the scene in the victim's truck. The truck was found abandoned in the Antigonish area.

Gratton and Nicholas were arrested in the Eskasoni First Nation in Cape Breton, about 30 hours after Jardine's body was found. Nicholas is originally from Eskasoni. Gratton and Nicholas were both charged with first-degree murder but that was later reduced to second-degree murder and then manslaughter for Gratton.

Gratton's sentencing is also scheduled for Dec. 16. Crown Prosecutor Michael O. LeBlanc said Monday that the victim had 11 children so there would be may requests to read victim impact statements before the sentence is decided. Manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.