Nearly three years after the stabbing death of his 23-year-old son, a Quinte West father has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Bryan Callighan and Christine Callighan appeared at the Quinte Consolidated Courthouse on Tuesday.

The couple were both charged after the body of their son Patrick Callighan was found at their home on Loyalist Parkway in Quinte West in 2020.  Bryan Callighan was charged with second-degree murder and indignity to a dead body. Four weeks later Christine Callighan was charged with accessory after the fact to murder and indignity to a dead body.  Christine also pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of interfering with a dead body on Tuesday.

An agreed statement of facts read into court said Patrick was diagnosed with ADHD, depression and anxiety.  On a few occasions, he became violent toward his parents and the police were called, the statement read.

On the day of Patrick's death, Dec. 15, 2019 there was a physical altercation between Patrick and his mother.  During the course of the physical altercation, Bryan Callighan stabbed Patrick nine times causing his death, court heard.

"When Bryan entered the room, Patrick was enraged, over his mother on the couch, with a  butcher knife in his hand, apparently poised to kill his mother," defence counsel Michael Pretsell said in an email to Lee Burgess, Hastings County Crown Attorney after Callighan confessed.  "Bryan immediately took action to protect his wife, and in the ensuing struggle,  Patrick suffered fatal injuries. Bryan believes if had not acted, his wife or himself would have been killed."

The couple did not seek any medical assistance for their son immediately after the incident nor for themselves, the statement of facts continued.  

"They also did not report the matter to the police. In fact, for approximately three months they made numerous efforts to conceal the homicide and make it look like their son Patrick had simply left town," it reads.

Callighan turned himself in to police in March 2020 and Patrick's remains were later discovered at the family home.

Burgess said in an email to InQuinte, the original charges were dropped based on the crown's ability to prove intent to kill beyond a reasonable doubt.

The couple will be sentenced on Dec. 14.