Charges have been laid in relation to the death of 32-year-old Sidney Joseph Mantee. He had been missing since March 2020 (Submitted photo/File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

1st degree murder

Murder charge laid in connection with missing Nanaimo man

Mar 10, 2022 | 11:18 AM

NANAIMO — A first degree murder charge related to the death of man missing for an extended period of time materialized following a lengthy police investigation.

Nanaimo RCMP Res. Cst. Gary O’Brien said in addition to murder, a charge of interference with a dead body has been laid against Paris Jayanne Laroche, 26, in relation to the death of Sidney Joseph Mantee, 32.

Laroche was arrested on Wednesday, March 9 without incident, O’Brien said.

Court records showed charges were officially laid against Laroche the same day she was arrested.

Laroche appeared briefly in court on Thursday and is scheduled to return to provincial court in Nanaimo on March 28.

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She remains in custody.

“This investigation required significant time and resources. Our investigators searched numerous locations and they followed up on literally dozens of tips to gather evidence on the homicide,” O’Brien told NanaimoNewsNOW.

No further information is being released by police at this time as the matter is before the courts.

O’Brien was unable to confirm whether there was a relationship between Laroche and Mantee, however her Facebook account indicated she was in a relationship with Mantee.

Late last spring Nanaimo RCMP began to conduct extensive searches of various locations around the city, including the Diver Lake area and an apartment on Rosehill St. near Vancouver Ave. where police said Mantee lived.

Police said the searches were linked to a historical missing persons investigation in which foul play was suspected.

Laroche has no prior criminal charges applied against her in the province, court records showed.

The investigation into Mantee’s death is one of five active homicide investigations from 2021 open at the Nanaimo detachment.

A sixth investigation was initiated following the death of a man at a north Nanaimo coffee shop in February 2022.

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