Nanaimo woman’s trial for her boyfriend’s murder comes to an end

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A Nanaimo woman who killed her boyfriend and scattered his remains in parks and the ocean should not be found guilty of first-degree murder, her lawyer argued during closing arguments before the British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver on Thursday.

Paris Laroche, 28, is on trial in a Vancouver court for first-degree murder and interference with human remains in the killing of Sidney Mantee, 32, in March 2020. The trial heard how she beat him on the head with a hammer while he slept and He kept his body in the apartment and for more than six months he cut it up and disposed of it in popular parks in the city.

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Laroche was under constant threat of death to her family, friends, her cats and herself because of Mantee’s threats and her belief that he would carry them out, her attorney, Glen Orris, said as he summed up defense evidence. of the trial, which was last held two months ago.

She referenced cases of women who were acquitted under the battered spouse defence, which was first used in Canada in 1986 when Angelique Lavallee was found not guilty of shooting her abusive partner in the back of the head after a psychiatrist testified that she felt that Lavallee would be murdered. if she didn’t defend herself against him.

But its successful use is rare. Women in abusive relationships are more likely to plead guilty to the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter.

Orris said the fact that Laroche, a small woman, killed the heavier, larger Mantee, and then had to deal with the body and buy tools to dismember it, shows she didn’t really think through her plan to kill him.

He said a charge of involuntary manslaughter would be more appropriate than first-degree murder. That conviction requires proven premeditation and carries an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole. Involuntary manslaughter is considered a more spontaneous act and there is no minimum sentence (when a firearm is not involved) and offenders can be granted probation for between seven and 10 years.

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But Crown prosecutor Nick Barber in his closing arguments recounted several statements by Laroche that indicated she had been planning the murder for months, admitted to a close friend, a boss, two undercover police officers who befriended her and others. that she had killed him. her, and she hadn’t always shown remorse or talked about abuse.

Barber also noted that while Mantee slept, Laroche killed him using tools he had purchased, then spent months dismembering the body and discarding the pieces in various locations after the murder.

The trial is scheduled to take place on Friday during a final day.

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