Four sentenced for dismembering body

EDMONTON, Alberta, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- A Canadian judge has sentenced four men in Edmonton, Alberta, to prison after they pleaded guilty to sawing a man's body into parts in an apartment bathtub.

The trial was brief, as police caught the men in the act of cutting up the body on Feb. 21, 2007. Officers were responding to a downstairs tenant's complaint of blood dripping through his ceiling, the Edmonton Journal reported Friday.

During sentencing, Judge Sterling Sanderman said the four, all in their 20s, showed complete disregard for the sanctity of the human body, and were prepared to "dispose of body parts like offal from a slaughterhouse," the newspaper said.

David Wong, 23, had been killed earlier in the day, but no arrests have been made for his slaying. Police said Wong had a long history of involvement with the drug trade in Edmonton, the newspaper said.

When police arrived, Wong's arms and one leg were found in a green plastic garbage bag, the court heard. A hacksaw, butcher knife and bloody rubber gloves were seized during the arrests.

The sentences range from two years and eight months to four and a half years, the report said.