Woman charged with murder, indignity to remains of missing Nanaimo man
Police say a 26-year-old woman has been charged with first-degree murder and indignity to human remains after a missing Nanaimo, B.C., man was found dead last year.
The charges stem from a two-year investigation into the disappearance and death of 33-year-old Sidney Mantee.
Mantee was first reported missing in October 2020. In late May 2021, Mounties were seen searching his apartment building and a local lake.
At the time, police would not confirm that the searches were part of the investigation into Mantee, though they did say that the activity was linked to a missing person that was believed to be the victim of foul play.
During those searches, neighbours told CTV News that police were asking them about Mantee.
Neighbours also said that he lived with a woman in the apartment, and that it was common to hear screaming arguments coming from the unit.
"The screaming was like death defying screams, you know?" said one neighbour. "It wasn't just like, get out of here screams. Someone was [angry] about something."
In May, police were not saying if the woman was a suspect, and added that there were details they were keeping under wraps to "preserve the integrity of the investigation."
In July 2021, Nanaimo RCMP did announce that the investigation into Mantee had changed from a missing person case to a homicide investigation.
Now, Mounties say that the B.C. Prosecution Service approved charges against Paris Laroche on Wednesday.
She was arrested the same day and was expected to appear in Nanaimo provincial court on Thursday.
"The investigation required significant time and police resources," said the Nanaimo RCMP in a statement Thursday.
"In the weeks and months following Mantee’s disappearance, investigators exhaustively searched several locations, and followed up on dozens of tips in order to gather evidence related to the homicide," said the detachment.
Police say that no further information will be released since the matter is now before the courts.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6970035.1721392588!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
Widespread tech outage affects Canadian airports, hospitals and border crossings
A global technology outage grounded flights, disrupted hospitals and backed up border crossings in Canada on Friday, as issues persisted hours after problems with Microsoft services were said to be getting fixed.
LIVE UPDATES Here's the latest on Canadian impacts of the global IT outage
The latest developments on the Canadian impacts of the global technology outage that is causing massive disruptions to companies and services around the world.
BREAKING LCBO reaches tentative agreement to end strike, stores could reopen Tuesday
The LCBO has reached a tentative agreement with the union representing approximately 10,000 of its employees, paving the way for stores to reopen as early as Tuesday.
Canadian families will receive more in their next Canada Child Benefit payment. Here's why
Canadian families receiving Canada Child Benefit program payments can expect more cash in their cheques this Friday.
Ontario woman says she was sold 'crumbling' house despite home inspection
As an Ontario woman put away her China dishes after Christmas Dinner in 2018, she noticed her cabinet doors refused to shut.
Recalled plant-based milk brands must rebuild trust by apologizing: marketers
Marketing experts say two brands that recently had to recall plant-based milk contaminated with Listeria can come back from the deadly outbreak, but they must move quickly to regain consumer trust.
Cape Breton moose hunting suspended for 3 years due to 'significant' drop in population
Nova Scotia is suspending the licensed Cape Breton moose hunt for three years due to what the province is calling a “significant drop” in the population.
Trudeau taps MacKinnon to be new labour minister, ahead of cabinet meeting
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has named Steven MacKinnon as Canada's new minister of labour and seniors, filling a fresh vacancy on his front bench, left by outgoing minister Seamus O'Regan.
Thinking about getting a tattoo? New research might change your mind
Sealed bottles of tattoo and permanent makeup ink, including some marked as sterile, contained millions of potentially dangerous bacteria, according to new research by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.