B.C. man accused of killing, dismembering wife changes plea to guilty

Warning: Some details in this story are disturbing.

A Langley, B.C., man accused of killing and dismembering his wife has changed his plea to guilty on two counts.

Obnes Regis was charged with manslaughter and indignity to human remains in the 2021 killing of his wife, Naomi Onotera.

He'd previously pleaded not guilty, but days into his B.C. Supreme Court trial, changed that plea to guilty on Friday.

“It’s been an emotional rollercoaster for these two-and-a-half years and we’re just glad to hear a guilty plea and finally have an end to this trial and this process,” said Onotera’s sister, Kirsten Kerr.

The guilty pleas come years after Regis was charged in Onotera’s death.

“It’s not, for example, the earliest guilty plea, but it is nonetheless a reflection of a decision that has been made after contemplation and a weighing of the evidence,” said his lawyer, Gloria Ng.

But the late pleas have taken their toll on family.

“It definitely would have been nice not to have had to endure everything and go through it,” said Kerr outside the courthouse. “It’s been a hard process.”

On Aug. 29, 2021, Onotera was reported missing by her mother. The 40-year-old's disappearance cast a shadow over the start of the school year at Surrey's Katzie Elementary School, where she worked as a teacher-librarian.

She was also the mother to a daughter under the age of two.

Court heard Friday that she was killed by a single punch to her head.

“My sister was an amazing person. She cared about everyone. She loved her friends. She loved her family. And her daughter was her everything. And she loved her kids at school,” said her sister.

“It’s been almost three years since she went missing, but we’ve had a lot of love and support, from the community, from friends and family,” Kerr said.

Onotera's disappearance was initially investigated by the Langley RCMP detachment, until authorities began to suspect foul play.

In December of 2021, Regis was arrested and charged. His trial began on Monday, with the prosecutor laying out a series of facts agreed upon by both Crown and defence.

Crown prosecutor, Crichton Pike, gave a timeline of events around Onotera's disappearance on Monday, explaining Regis's odd behaviour as his wife's family and friends grew increasingly alarmed that they could not reach her.

Pike also outlined undercover police evidence and forensic material contained in 40 exhibits, including bone fragments and hair purportedly found on a mitre saw in the front yard of the couple's home. Surveillance video also showed Regis with the couple's toddler daughter and a black backpack taking transit and a taxi from Surrey to Maple Ridge to Fort Langley.

Regis allegedly took undercover officers to the site where he scattered Onotera's bones along the Fraser River in Fort Langley. He also allegedly told them some of the finger-sized pieces fell into the water while others fell in the bushes. Crown said he'd taken his daughter with him to do so and used public transit to Maple Ridge, then Langley before taking a taxi to Fort Langley.

Regis’ lawyer could not speak to her client’s emotional state following the guilty pleas, but said that in interviews with police earlier “there was a great deal of remorse and a great deal of anguish and pain that he himself expresses over what happened."

"In that same vein is what I would expect to be forthcoming in his statement at sentencing," Ng said.

Onotera’s family said there can never be true justice in her death, but they are hopeful Regis will receive a lengthy sentence.

A four-day sentencing hearing begins June 17.

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Penny Daflos