A 61-year-old Leamington man has formally admitted to killing his elderly mother in a violent attack outside her apartment earlier this year, with disturbing details of the crime laid out in an Ontario courtroom.
Guilty Plea Entered in Ontario Court
Kevin Goodings pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Thursday in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The charge relates to the death of his 83-year-old mother, Anita Goodings.
According to an agreed statement of facts presented by assistant Crown attorney George Spartinos, the attack occurred on the morning of March 11, 2025. The court heard that Goodings repeatedly stomped on his mother's head, punched and kicked her, and attempted to suffocate her with a pillow as she lay unmoving on the patio behind her Leamington residence.
Gruesome Details and Aftermath
Surveillance footage played in court showed Goodings assaulting his mother multiple times before wrapping her body in blankets and fleeing the scene. Anita Goodings's motionless body was discovered by police a day later, on March 12.
The autopsy report concluded she died from a severe concussion and fatal brain stem dysfunction, both caused by blunt force trauma to the head.
Following the murder, Goodings was seen at Windsor's Via Rail station and later near Caesars Windsor, where he tried to hire a taxi to Toronto or London. A cab driver instead took him to the Downtown Mission in Windsor, where he stayed under assumed names until his arrest four days later. Trace amounts of blood matching his mother's DNA were found on his right shoe at the time of his arrest.
Defence Cites Difficult Upbringing
Goodings, who appeared in court with white hair styled in a mohawk and wearing black glasses, was described as relaxed during the proceedings. His lawyer, Dan Scott, stated his client was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol and that his mental health was "nothing out of the ordinary."
"I think it was a situation where he just lost it," Scott told the court. He described Goodings as having had a "strenuous and tough life with his mother" and a "very difficult upbringing." Goodings had lived with his mother for nearly six months prior to her death.
Scott noted his client had been cooperative, "quickly acknowledged that what he did was wrong," and avoided a trial by pleading guilty. About a dozen of the victim's friends and family members were present for the plea hearing.
Crown attorney Spartinos declined to comment ahead of sentencing. Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia will hold a sentencing hearing in January.
