Woman guilty of murdering, dismembering boyfriend in Nanaimo, B.C.

Paris Laroche and Sidney Mantee are pictured. (Paris Laroche/Facebook)

A 28-year-old British Columbia woman has been found guilty of killing and dismembering her boyfriend on Vancouver Island nearly four years ago.

Paris Laroche was charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of interfering with human remains in the death and disappearance of Sidney Mantee, 33, in October 2020.

On Friday, a B.C. Supreme Court judge found Laroche guilty of the lesser charge of second-degree murder, as well as the interference charge.

In May 2021, seven months after Mantee's disappearance, Mounties searched the Nanaimo apartment shared by the couple, and confirmed suspicions the missing man had met with foul play. That July, police announced the missing person case had turned into a homicide investigation.

Undercover officers hear confession

Earlier this year, one of the officers involved in the investigation testified at trial that he had extracted a confession from Laroche after posing as the brother of a woman who was previously in a relationship with Mantee.

"The cover story was that my sister had been in an abusive relationship with the victim and that we were there that day to try and locate the victim," the officer told the Vancouver courtroom.

The officer, who met Laroche outside the couple's Nanaimo apartment, told the woman that he and another family member were out for revenge against the missing man.

The officer said Laroche admitted to killing Mantee, and eventually invited him and another undercover officer inside their apartment.

"She had disclosed that she had killed the victim, and we had offered to help her dispose of some of the evidence to ensure she wasn't caught," he said.

He testified that Laroche showed them two saws and a hammer used in the killing and dismemberment. "She was talking about how she had cleaned up, and whether or not she had done a good job."

Sidney Mantee was initially reported missing in October 2020. (Nanaimo RCMP)

The officers recorded audio of the interaction, including Laroche saying, "I had to break his body down and put him into the ocean piece by piece over months."

Laroche told the undercover officers she had been abused by her partner, adding "he is no longer able to harm anyone."

Body discarded over months

On the first day of the murder trial in January, the court heard that more than a dozen of Mantee's bone fragments had been found at two city parks around Nanaimo.

Terry Boyle, a former employer of Laroche, testified that the woman told her she kept Mantee's body in their apartment refrigerator, periodically disposing of his remains between March and August 2020.

"I came right out and asked her if she had done it," Boyle told the court. "And she said yes."

Laroche allegedly told her boss that Mantee had threatened to kill her friends and family, and that he had thrown her cat against the wall of their apartment. 

Following his disappearance, neighbours told CTV News they would often overhear the couple arguing inside the apartment.

Laroche pleaded not guilty to both charges. A date for her sentencing has not been set.

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Ben Nesbit