The fates of two individuals intertwined in the shadowy world of petty crime culminated in a chillingly predictable outcome. One met a gruesome end, concealed within a plastic barrel cast adrift on a riverbank, while the other now faces a lifetime behind bars.
Ashley “Big Ash” Bourget, a 41-year-old mother of two, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years. The conviction stemmed from the brutal, calculated murder of Grant Norton, a 59-year-old man entangled in the fringes of organized crime and the drug trade.
Bourget remained silent during her sentencing in London, Ontario, offering no explanation for her actions. The court had already determined she was the central figure in Norton’s agonizing death, a crime marked by extreme violence and callous disregard for human life.
Neither Bourget nor Norton occupied a position of power within the criminal underworld. However, Norton’s connections to the late Pasquale “Fat Pat” Musitano, a former kingpin of the Hamilton Mob, drew him into a dangerous web of illicit activities. Both were known figures in London’s criminal circles, operating small-time scams and dealing in drugs.
Norton, residing in an Ingersoll hotel, was lured to Bourget’s residence on Adelaide Street in July 2020 under the guise of a drug transaction. The true intention, however, was a robbery – a desperate attempt to seize thousands of dollars.
The encounter quickly spiraled into a horrific ordeal. Norton was subjected to a brutal beating, bound tightly, and ultimately stabbed to death. His body was then unceremoniously stuffed into a white plastic barrel and abandoned near the Thames River, a grim discovery that would soon unravel a dark conspiracy.
Norton’s disappearance on July 7, 2020, coincided with another violent event. Just three days later, Musitano himself was gunned down in a Burlington strip mall, effectively dismantling the crime family he had led for decades. This act brought a fragile peace to a long-running and bloody gang war that had claimed a dozen lives across Southern Ontario.
Justice Martha Cook, delivering the sentence, emphasized the savagery of the crime. “Mr. Norton was restrained, robbed, savagely beaten and stabbed,” she stated, acknowledging Bourget’s active role in the killing, even if she wasn’t solely responsible. The judge left a stark warning: Bourget’s future hinged on her actions within the prison walls.
Bourget is one of five individuals convicted in connection with Norton’s murder. Wesley Peters, 33, previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter and awaits his final sentencing in February, marking the last chapter in this disturbing case.
The case serves as a chilling reminder of the brutal realities lurking beneath the surface of seemingly minor criminal enterprises, and the devastating consequences that can ripple through the lives of those involved.
