Lucas sentenced to life with no parole for 22 years in Fort Erie murders

A Toronto man found guilty of shooting two young women to death at a Fort Erie birthday party has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 22 years.

Christopher Lucas, 27, was found guilty in January of two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Christine Crooks, 18, of Toronto and Juliana Pannunzio, 20, of Essex, Ont.

The two were shot on January 19, 2021, at a short-term rental house on the Niagara Parkway.

Ontario Superior Court Justice James Ramsay handed down the sentence Monday afternoon in Welland, according to CTV News, which covered the hearing.

The judge said three things weighed most heavily on his sentence: Lucas took two lives, he reached for his gun over something trivial, and the second killing was cold and calculated.

He found Pannunzio was likely killed because she was the only person at the party willing to call 911 after Crooks was shot in the hand.

The judge also said all 13 remaining guests testified at trial and all 13 lied under oath to protect Lucas. A jury in Welland convicted Lucas after a 40-day trial in the fall of 2025.

“If this story has a hero, it’s Juliana,” assistant Crown attorney Jody Ostapiw told jurors in her closing address, Fort Erie Radio reported at the time of the verdict.

At Monday’s hearing, Ostapiw asked for the maximum 25 years before parole eligibility. She said Lucas was in a relationship with Crooks, carried an illegal gun to a party full of friends, was on probation for a weapons offence at the time and fled the region after the shootings.

She also reminded the judge that nine of the 12 jurors recommended the full 25 years. The other three made no recommendation.

Defence lawyer Neil Fitzmaurice asked for 18 years. He argued the shootings happened in under a minute with no planning, and said no Canadian precedent supports a 25-year parole period for second-degree murder.

Lucas came to Canada from the Democratic Republic of Congo and grew up in a violent Toronto neighbourhood, Fitzmaurice told the court. He said Lucas would likely face deportation if ever released.

The judge described Lucas as dangerous and resistant to authority, pointing to three adult convictions for assault, two of them against peace officers, along with assaults on jail staff and an inmate while he awaited trial.

Members of Pannunzio’s family read victim impact statements in court Monday, describing more than five years of grief since her death.

Her stepmother, Shellie Pannunzio, looked at Lucas in the offender box and told him true justice is impossible because Juliana is gone, so accountability is all the family can hope for.

Lucas can apply for parole in 22 years. Release on a life sentence is never guaranteed.

“He will never be paroled unless things change,” said Ramsay.

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