Sidney Mantee was murdered by his former girlfriend in the early morning hours of March 5, 2020, as he slept face-down on a living room mattress. (Nanaimo RCMP)

By Ian Holmes

case closed

Sentencing concludes for Nanaimo woman who murdered/dismembered estranged boyfriend

Feb 6, 2025 | 11:21 AM

Editor’s note: this article contains graphic details of violence and may not be suitable for some readers. Discretion is strongly advised.

VANCOUVER — A sentence has formally been established for a Nanaimo woman found guilty of a gruesome murder.

Paris Jayanne Laroche, 29, was convicted last summer of a downgraded charge of second-degree murder and interfering with the remains of her estranged boyfriend, 32-year-old Sidney Joseph Mantee.

The sentence carries an automatic punishment of life in prison.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Robin Baird determined parole eligibility for Laroche be set at 12 years during a Thursday, Feb 6 hearing in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver.

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Parole eligibility for the charge of second-degree murder in Canada is between 10 and 25 years.

Crown prosecutor Nick Barber confirmed the 12 year parole eligibility is retroactive to March 9, 2022 when Laroche was charged and taken into custody.

The Crown’s Nick Barber confirmed Laroche’s parole eligibility of 12 years is retroactive to the March 2022 charge approval date, meaning she’ll be eligible to apply for parole as of March 9, 2034.

He lobbied for a 15-year period before parole eligibility, while Laroche’s legal team requested the minimum 10-year parole eligibility requirement.

On March 5, 2020, at about 4 a.m., Laroche hit Mantee in the back of the head with a hammer, then slit his throat and cut his body into many pieces.

The revelations came to light following confessions several months later made by Laroche to several people, including a close friend who relayed the information to Nanaimo RCMP.

Several hours of jarring undercover police recordings detailed how Laroche killed the man, first striking him with a small graphite hammer three times on the head as he slept face down.

Laroche cut up and placed Mantee’s remains in the fridge of the Rosehill St. apartment the couple shared.

She then tossed out the dismembered remains around Nanaimo over the course of a year, including in public parks and Nanaimo’s waterfront near her home.

“I find that this killing was an act of fury and vengeance, probably fuelled by a multitude of past transgressions, but in particular because she thought that Mr. Mantee had harmed her cat the night before,” justice Baird stated.

Laroche unknowingly took undercover police on tours around Nanaimo where she disposed of Mantee’s remains, with bone fragments of Mantee confirmed to be retrieved from several locations.

Laroche’s lengthy trial heard from several witnesses who testified that Mantee had physically and psychologically abused Laroche, which progressed as the relationship deteriorated.

Evidence presented at trial stated Laroche feared for her life.

Justice Baird pointed to statements Laroche made to undercover police, including a declaration from the offender that she would either kill him in self-defence, or take matters into her own hands by killing him and covering it up.

Laroche did not testify at the trial and declined to issue a statement to the court.

Justice Baird ruled the extreme and “unmistakably punitive” violence unleashed by Laroche was “more improvised than planned” and was not a premeditated act.

The judge resoundingly rejected the argument of self-defence as suggested by defence attorney Glen Orris.

“Ms. Laroche knew that he had no present capacity to harm or threaten her as she stood over him with her hammer. She acted unilaterally It was entirely a one-sided transaction. Mr. Mantee was unarmed and defenceless.”

Paris Laroche had no prior criminal record. Mantee was her first seroius relationship. They met when she was 18-years-old at a south Nanaimo fish plant where they both worked. (Submitted photo)

Justice Baird noted both the pre-sentence and psychiatric assessment of Laroche detailed how she was surprised by his verdict and that she considered her actions as reasonable and necessary.

There is a notable absence of any remorse and a rather remarkable lack of insight into the gravity of her criminal wrongdoing,” the judge said.

The victim’s mother, Emma Mantee, travelled from Saskatchewan for a sentencing hearing last Friday.

Mantee told court Laroche is the evilest person she knows.

“You hit him with a hammer and it took him a few hours to die, that tore me to pieces, and you threw him away like he was garbage. You, Paris, had his head sitting in your freezer, in my son’s freezer, for several months,” she said.

A forensic evaluation determined Laroche does not have any mental illnesses and that her risk of re-offending is low.

Mantee’s case was considered a missing person’s file until Laroche’s confession came to light when the case transitioned to a homicide investigation.

Laroche’s trial heard she misled police and Mantee’s mother by claiming he left after their relationship fell apart and she didn’t know where he went.

She unsuccessfully applied for pretrial bail in late July 2022.

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