Boyfriend's father sentenced to house arrest for dismembering body of Treasa Oberly

Content warning: This story contains graphic details that may be disturbing to some.

An Alberta man has been sentenced to 12 months house arrest in the death of Beaumont mother Treasa Oberly.

On Dec. 19, 2023, Joseph Skelly pleaded guilty to causing an indignity to a body in Oberly's death.

Joseph's son Kenneth Skelly, who was Oberly's common-law husband and the father of her son, is charged with second-degree murder in her death.

Oberly, 40, went missing July 14, 2023.

Her body was found 10 days later in the Whitecourt area.

According to the agreed statement of facts between Joseph Skelly and the Crown, Kenneth arrived at Joseph's home in Beaumont on the night of July 15 with Oberly's body in his truck.

He moved the body to Joseph's garage, before informing his father what he had done, the statement says.

The two men talked about how to prevent Oberly's body from being identified, especially by the tattoos on her forearms.

Joseph, who said he wanted to protect his son from prosecution, said he was intoxicated at the time.

A retired butcher, he ultimately used an axe, a boning knife and a handheld electric saw to remove Oberly's head and forearms, which he placed in a burn barrel in his backyard and burned to ashes, according to the agreed statement of facts.

He then put the ashes in his recycling bin.

Joseph said he continued to drink through the events, and eventually decided he was too drunk to drive to finish disposing of the body.

On the morning of July 16 after sobering up, he covered the rest of Oberly's body with a tarp and mattress bag and drove to a rural area near Whitecourt, where he left her remains.

He returned to his home and burned the tarp and mattress bag and cleaned his garage and truck.

Joseph was questioned by police on July 21 and told them Oberly had likely left the area.

On July 24 when police returned to his home to seize his phone, he voluntarily took police to her body, which led to the arrest of Kenneth.

Two days later Joseph admitted to dismembering Oberly's body.

As a result of the condition of her body, investigators have not been able to determine what killed Oberly, but her death is believed to have been caused by a head wound.

She was identified through DNA analysis.

Sentencing hearing

During the sentencing hearing on Thursday, court heard victim impact statements from Oberly's mother and close friends.

"I still can't believe my baby girl is gone," Oberly's mother Kay Zimath said in a statement read by the Crown.

"You are an evil coward."

"One day her son will know what his grandfather did to her body," friend Zina Hinkley said.

"You are a monster."

Joseph's lawyer also read a statement on behalf of his client.

"I am beyond sorry and ashamed for my part in it," he wrote.

"I will never forgive myself."

After finishing his 12 months of house arrest, Joseph Skelly must complete a 12-month curfew followed by 12 months of probation.

He must also do 200 hours of community service.

"I am satisfied that a community sentence would not endanger the community," Justice John Little told the court at sentencing.

Kenneth Skelly's next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 14 in Leduc.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Amanda Anderson