A sentencing hearing is expected to proceed in person later this month for the Oshawa man who killed and dismembered two young women.

Due to the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Adam Strong’s two-day sentencing hearing, which was initially scheduled to take place last month, has been pushed to May 27 and May 28.

Speaking in an Oshawa courtroom on Monday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Joseph Di Luca said given the sensitive nature of the victim impact statements that will be read, it is important that the hearing proceed in person, noting that all proper public health precautions will be taken.

In April, Di Luca opted to read his decision during a virtual hearing over Zoom.

During the sentencing hearing, spots will be made available inside the courtroom for family, members of the public, and members of the media and numbers will be capped to ensure that people can stay a safe distance apart, he said.

It is expected that there will be an overflow room as well for those who aren’t able to get a seat inside the courtroom.

Strong was found guilty of first-degree murder last month in the death of 18-year-old Rori Hache and manslaughter in the death of 19-year-old Kandis Fitzpatrick.

Hache disappeared in 2017 and Fitzpatrick was last seen by her family in 2008.

In his decision, Ontario Superior Court Justice Joseph Di Luca said he was satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that Strong sexually assaulted and murdered Hache, who was believed to be pregnant at the time she was killed.

Hache’s torso was discovered in the Oshawa Harbour weeks after she was last seen on Aug. 30, 2017.

Her head and other body parts were found in a freezer in Strong’s bedroom months later after plumbers discovered human flesh in a clogged drain in his basement apartment.

Strong was also charged with first-degree murder in the death of Fitzpatrick but Di Luca said there was insufficient evidence to prove that Strong intended to kill her, saying only that it was clear the accused "unlawfully caused her death."

A Wyoming Knife with a tissue-like substance on it was also found in Strong’s apartment and it was later determined that DNA on the knife belonged to Fitzpatrick.

While Strong pleaded not guilty to their murders, his lawyers conceded that their client did dismember the two women.

A first-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the chance of parole for 25 years.