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Man who bragged about beating up ex-girlfriend faces sentencing

A sentencing hearing began Friday for a man who beat up his ex-girlfriend and then bragged about it on social media.

A sentencing hearing began Friday for a man who beat up his ex-girlfriend and then bragged about it on social media.

Dressed in jail house reds, Tristan Pierre Heiney, 22, appeared subdued as the circumstances were read out in Prince George provincial court from the Oct. 31, 2016 incident in a Prince George motel room.

Alarm was first raised the day after when a missing person report was made to Burns Lake RCMP. The victim had been dropped off at the Greyhound bus depot in Prince George for a trip to Edmonton to visit relatives but never arrived.

At about the same time, a posting by Heiney was discovered on Facebook saying he had taught her a lesson.

"She knew I'd find out if she cheated," he continued. "One thing you don't do is double cross me. I'm not someone's second choice."

In a subsequent posting, he wrote "ha, ha, ha, hope she ain't dead," then added he was joking and missed her.

Heiney, who had a previous conviction for assaulting her, became a suspect as RCMP began a search for the woman.

By later the same morning, she had been found in the motel room after she had called the front desk to ask for help. Ambulance personnel and RCMP arrived to find her badly beaten about her face and barely able to speak, saying only that her ex-boyfriend had done it to her.

Her eyes were swollen shut, she appeared to be missing teeth and investigators later took photos of her entire body to record the bruising she had suffered. Three slurs were written on one of her shoulder blades with mascara.

The room was in disarray with bottles and cans of alcohol strewn about, blood stains on the bedding, carpet and some clothing, a splatter of blood on the bathroom door and a clump of hair at the entrance to the bathroom.

Video images of Heiney paying for the room the morning before were retrieved and the front counter clerk remembered him leaving alone sometime afterwards.

Known to be living in Prince George, he was tracked down to a 3600-block Pinewood home. He was found lying face down on a bed, apparently intoxicated and with scratch marks on his back.

He has pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, unlawful confinement and breach of probation - a no-contact order with the woman was one of his probation conditions.

Crown prosecution is seeking four to six years in federal prison for Heiney while defence counsel will argue for time served and probation. Heiney has remained in custody since his arrest.

Coming in from Burns Lake, members of Heiney's family attended the hearing, which will continue at a later date. No one from the woman's family was present.