Warning: Story contains graphic details of a murder and may not be suitable for all readers.
A Nanaimo woman, found guilty of second-degree murder after clubbing her ex-boyfriend with a hammer and slashing his throat, will soon know when she can apply for parole.
Initially charged with the first-degree murder of Sidney Joseph Mantee in 2022, Paris Jayanne Laroche, 29, was found guilty of the lesser murder charge in July by B.C. Supreme Court justice Robin Baird. She was also found guilty of interfering with human remains and will serve a mandatory life sentence.
Sentencing began Friday, Jan. 31, in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver with Nick Barber, Crown counsel, seeking no parole for 15 years and Glen Orris and Robyn Young, defence counsel, asking for parole eligibility after 10 years. Laroche has been in custody since her 2022 arrest.
Barber referred to the manner in which Laroche killed Mantee, cutting up his body parts and storing them in her fridge and freezer before disposing of them. Orris stated that his client had no previous criminal history and as she had no other suggestion of anti-social or violent behaviour, there isn't a need to extend parole ineligibility.
Emma Mantee, Sidney's mother, addressed the court in a victim impact statement, calling Laroche "despicable." She felt anguish when she was informed that her son's body parts sat on an evidence shelf for a time.
Emma admonished Laroche for continuing on with her life after the murder, like nothing happened, and suggested she did not suffer from battered wife syndrome, as defence had suggested. Emma concluded that Laroche had no conscience and was a mother's worst nightmare.
Mantee, 32, was reported missing in 2020, and after a tip from one of Laroche's friends in 2021, Nanaimo RCMP members conducted an undercover operation, posing as relatives of another woman Mantee was said to have abused, eliciting a confession in the process. Evidence at trial revealed Mantee abused Laroche, choking her till she was unconscious and threatening her with violence.
The main catalyst for Mantee's murder was his alleged abuse of Laroche's cat, according to Crown. Laroche, as she was getting ready for work on March 5, 2020, thought the sound of a hooting owl was a sign for her to act. After a hammer strike to the head failed to kill a sleeping Mantee, Laroche cut his throat with a knife.
Afterward, she cut his body up, stored it in the refrigerator and freezer, and disposed of the parts over six months at areas such as Pipers Lagoon and Neck Point Park.
In his July ruling, Baird said that the threshold for first-degree murder hadn't been met. As Laroche acted after hearing the owl, he deemed it a spontaneous action, as opposed to pre-meditated. At the same time, the judge said it wasn't an act of self-defence, as Mantee was asleep and not an immediate threat to Laroche.
On Jan. 31, Baird stressed that Laroche will be subject to the parole board for the rest of her life and won't be granted parole automatically.
He will render his decision on Laroche's parole eligibility on Thursday, Feb. 6.
Laroche declined an opportunity to address the court.
The trial was held between January and April of 2024.
