Global News has obtained security video of two men wearing what appear to be police jackets entering the home of a woman killed in a Vancouver home invasion three years ago.
The video was entered as evidence during the sentencing hearing for Sandy Jack Parisian, who has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the Jan. 31, 2021 death of 78-year-old Usha Singh.
In the video, the men can be seen ringing the doorbell of the home near Queen Elizabeth Park before entering. Footage submitted by Crown prosecutors also shows the pair rummaging through the senior’s living room.
Singh was found with critical injuries after a friend called police asking them to conduct a welfare check. At the time, police said they believed she’d been left helpless for hours. She later died in hospital.
Parisian pleaded guilty to manslaughter last year, and the Crown is seeking an eight-year sentence in the killing.
On Wednesday, Parisian’s defence team told the court it felt a five-year sentence was more appropriate, along with credit for time served. Parisian has been in custody since Feb. 9, 2022.
Defence lawyer Adrian Picard acknowledged Parisian has a lengthy criminal record including convictions for assault and other violent crime.
But he said his client’s offending was linked to tragic personal circumstances, and that despite a “lifetime of substance misuse” the 50-year-old is “motivated for rehabilitation.”
“The facts that are proven do not necessarily show Mr. Parisian entered into this crime with a fulsome belief any violence is going to occur,” he told the court.
Parisian has apologized to the court, and his lawyer said his guilty plea showed remorse.
On Wednesday, Justice Kathleen Ker noted the gravity of the offence.
“It’s not murder but the circumstances of the offence are grave,” she said.
Ker is expected to deliver her sentence on March 15.
A second man accused in the death, Pascal Bouthillette, is slated to stand trial on a charge of first-degree murder in May.