Trial underway for Nanaimo woman accused of killing, dismembering boyfriend

WARNING: This story contains disturbing details and may not be suitable for all readers

A trial is underway at B.C. Supreme Court for a woman accused of killing her boyfriend, before dismembering him and dumping his body parts around Nanaimo.

Paris Laroche, 28, has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and interference with a body in the March 2020 death of Sidney Joseph Mantee.

Laroche has elected for a trial by judge alone, and on Tuesday, Justice Robin Baird heard from her former employer and friend Terrylynn Boyle.

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Boyle testified that she recalled a phone conversation with Laroche following the accused’s arrest in March 2022.

“I came right out and asked her if she had done it, and she said ‘Yes,’” Boyle told the court.

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She told the court that when she asked Laroche why, the other woman responded that Mantee had threatened to kill her family and friends, and had thrown their cat against the wall.

“She just wanted him to go to sleep,” Boyle told the court. “She got on top of him with a hammer and hit him over the head.”

Boyle said Laroche went on to describe what she did with Mantee’s body.

“She ‘deered’ him,” she said, meaning Laroche had gutted, drained and dismembered the body as if it were a deer carcass.

“She kept him in her refrigerator and would take pieces out in her backpack and spread them around the island.”

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Mantee, 32, was reported in October 2020.

The court also heard from another witness, who testified that six months after Mantee’s disappearance Laroche also confessed to her about the murder, saying she had just finished disposing of the body.

The witness reported Laroche to Nanaimo RCMP the following morning, also telling them Mantee had been abusing her.

A three-day undercover investigation resulted in Laroche’s arrest.