Woman dubbed 'Big Ashley' guilty of murder in drug dealer's London death
The body of Grant Norton, 59, was discovered in a plastic barrel dumped near the Thames River on July 19, 2020
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A sentencing date has been set for the London woman convicted in the beating death of a 59-year-old drug dealer.
Following Ashley Bourget’s lengthy trial, which started in early April, the jury returned a verdict of guilty late Tuesday night – a few hours after they began deliberating. She was convicted on a charge of first-degree murder, her lawyer, Mary Cremer, said.
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Court officials say sentencing is set for Aug. 1.
Bourget, 41, had been on trial in the death of 59-year-old Grand Norton, whose body was discovered in a white plastic barrel dumped near the Thames River on July 19, 2020.
The Crown argued he was killed inside Bourget’s Adelaide Street apartment on July 6, 2020, and, at Bourget’s request, was removed from the residence by her ex-boyfriend and discarded.
The jury began deliberating Tuesday afternoon following Superior Court Justice Martha Cook’s final instructions.
Norton dealt mostly in large quantities of crystal meth and had ties to a Hamilton crime family. The jury heard he was living in an Ingersoll hotel room at the time of his death and driving around London in his Audi with about $30,000 in the console.
The Crown said he was lured to Bourget’s apartment to complete a large drug buy with Bourget, who was known as Big Ashley.
Bourget, the Crown argued, was interested in Norton’s money and a $1-million bounty the mob had on Norton’s head. She also hated him because he had sexually assaulted her several times.
Police found blood evidence throughout the apartment, on a baseball bat and hatchet and on a discarded couch. They also retrieved his cellphone and text messages with Bourget.
However, the defence argued Bourget was a “dupe” who was used by associate Adam Wade to get Norton to the apartment, where he ordered Bourget to watch TV with the volume up while he and two masked men beat Norton, who they said owed Wade money, to death.
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