A man convicted of murdering a Japanese woman in Vancouver in 2016 received a life sentence Friday with no chance of parole for 14 years, Canadian media reported.
The ruling by a Vancouver court came after William Schneider, 50, was found guilty of murder last month over the death of Natsumi Kogawa, then a 30-year-old student at a language school.
According to the reports, Schneider killed Kogawa around Sept. 8, 2016. He has admitted to stuffing Kogawa's body into a suitcase but denied the charges of murdering her.
"This was the killing of a completely innocent young woman," the judge was quoted as saying. "This was a random and impulsive killing that seems to not have had any impact on Mr. Schneider's subsequent behavior."
Schneider earlier Friday stood before the court and addressed a short statement to Kogawa's mother, Emiko, who was not in court. "I'm just so sorry for your pain," he was quoted as saying.
Kogawa, a native of Aomori Prefecture, went missing sometime after she was seen walking with Schneider on a surveillance video in downtown Vancouver on Sept. 8, 2016.
Her body was found in a famous mansion known as Gabriola House in the city's West End on Sept. 28 of that year, and Schneider was arrested on the same day.