GRAPHIC WARNING: This article contains graphic details.
Family and friends of Saladina Vivancos shared their grief Friday in court at the sentencing hearing for the man found guilty of second-degree murder in her death.Blake Jolicoeur was convicted on May 24.
Vivancos died Nov. 16, 2019. Her body was found bloodied in the back seat of a car north of Spruce Grove. The car was on a frozen pond near Township Road 532A and Range Road 274. She was 33 years old and had just moved to Edmonton from Kelowna.
“I felt my entire world come crashing down,” Andrea Labour, Vivancos’ sister, told court on Friday.
“When I was told my little sister was found dead, I could not believe it… I became completely numb.”
Labour said she used to be a successful, career-driven woman, but now she’s off work and afraid to be alone in her own home.
“I’m now on disability due to the mental and psychological anguish this has caused me,” she told court. “I’ve lived in agony since I lost her.”
“My life will never be the same without her,” Labour said. “I have been robbed of having my little sister with me.”
In total, 23 victim impact statements were read Friday.
Jolicoeur, 39, sat in court in an orange jumpsuit. He had a beard and his hair was tied back in a ponytail.
“I’d like to say, from the bottom of my heart, I’m truly sorry,” he said, when given the chance to address court on Friday afternoon.
“I know there are no words that can make this better. There is no single action that can right my wrong. Nothing can justify the events of that evening,” Jolicoeur said.
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He was emotional while delivering his apology.
“I know it’s only words and it will never be enough, but at this time, it’s all I can do.
“I truly mean this: if given the chance, I will spend my life trying to make things better. I will spend my life trying to give back what I’ve taken.”
In an agreed statement of facts, the court heard Vivancos was dealing drugs in the Parkland County area and Jolicoeur set up a buy with her.
When Vivancos stopped responding to the phone she used to conduct the drug deals and didn’t answer her personal phone, two friends tracked down the vehicle she was driving using a GPS tracker inside.
Court previously heard Vivancos was cold and stiff, bleeding from her head. One man called 911 while the other started performing CPR. When first responders arrived, she was declared dead.
An autopsy found Vivancos sustained 56 blunt force injuries, including 18 external blunt force injuries to her head. Her cause of death was blunt force trauma to her cranial region.
Jolicoeur, from Spruce Grove, was arrested later that month, and charged with second-degree murder.
“It is not disputed that Mr. Jolicoeur caused the death of Ms. Vivancos or that she died by blunt force trauma to her cranial region,” court documents show. “In fact, Mr. Jolicoeur walked into the police station a few days later and confessed to the killing.”
Labour said Friday that her sister’s death hit their mother very hard.
“I watched my mom’s heart shatter in pieces when she learned how cruelly Saladina was taken from us.
“My mom died because the pain took everything from her.”
The sisters said their mother died four days into the second-degree murder trial.
The legal process has been extremely difficult for the family, younger sister Tierna Vivancos told court.
“Some things really traumatized me. I can’t get the images out of my mind of her being brutalized,” she said.
“Her loss impacted our whole family and friends in so many ways… I’m afraid I will never recover from this loss.”
She said the two sisters were just two years apart and were often mistaken for twins. She said Saladina was an incredible aunt and loved children.
“She could not wait to be a mother,” Labour said. “She had an enormous extended family who loved her. She would have had her entire life ahead of her.”
Two friends also provided statements to the court. Diana Laflemme said losing her best friend was the most painful thing she’s ever experienced.
“She was the most caring, kind, genuine human… I will never hear her voice or her beautiful laugh.
“There will always be a void in my heart that can never be filled.”
Friend Kelli Dean said Saladina is impossible to replace.
“She was a constant in my life that I could count on for anything, no matter what.
“She was beautiful, confident, loving, thoughtful, caring and free… I miss her every single day and always will,” she said.
“You stole her from us. How dare you?”
The Crown is seeking an automatic sentence of life in prison because of the second-degree murder conviction. The Crown wants to see Jolicoeur spend 14 years behind bars before he’s eligible to apply for parole.
The Crown prosecutor said while Jolicoeur cooperated with police and gave a voluntary admission, his actions after the “brutal and prolonged” attack were the most serious aggravating factors. The Crown said he tried to set fire to the vehicle then sink it in a pond with the victim’s body inside.
“Others must be deterred from acting in such a violent way.”
The Crown alleges he didn’t offer or seek medical help for the victim, that he took her cellphone, money, purse and cocaine, and that he deleted calls and texts from his phone.
The Defense is seeking between 12 and 15 years.
“There is no doubt this is a brutal and violent attack,” adding that Jolicoeur had no criminal record, was mostly employed full-time and has three kids, ages 15 to 21. Court heard he had large periods of sobriety and continues to have the support of his mother, grandmother and partner.
The Defense argued Jolicoeur is remorseful, has taken steps to rehabilitate and has accepted what he did was wrong.
“What is 14 years?” said Saladina’s sister Tierna.
She said hearing Jolicoeur apologize made her sick.
“No way… You can’t do something like that and then say sorry and ask for forgiveness. There are consequences.
“It made me sick to my stomach,” she said. “I think it’s an act and he wants to get out early.”
A sentencing decision will not be made Friday. On Jan. 6, a date will be set for sentencing.
–with files from Sarah Ryan, Global News
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