British Columbia · Historical sentencing record · Published 20 September 2026
In R. v. Laroche, 2020 BCSC 1930, Associate Chief Justice Heather J. Holmes accepted a joint Crown–defence proposal for ten years’ imprisonment for the manslaughter of Vicki Black. The court credited pre-sentence custody, leaving eight years and ten months to serve on that sentence. This source trail explains the November 2020 decision. A separately attributed September 2026 death-in-custody update does not establish fault by the sentencing judge.
The case and the verified judge
The official B.C. Supreme Court reasons identify the presiding judge as “The Honourable Associate Chief Justice H. Holmes.” They record oral reasons for sentence delivered in Vancouver on November 17, 2020, docket 31109-2. The court’s June 22, 2018 appointment announcement gives the full name Heather J. Holmes and the associate chief justice role. The existing Heather J. Holmes profile is linked rather than duplicated.
Laroche pleaded guilty to manslaughter (para. 1). Vicki Black was 23 when she was killed on March 4, 1993 (para. 3). The reasons recognize profound harm to her, those close to her and the community (paras. 9–14). This account omits graphic particulars and unnecessary family and medical information.
Why the joint submission matters
The ten-year proposal came from both Crown and defence (paras. 1, 27). At paragraph 28, Holmes applied the joint-submission test from R. v. Anthony-Cook, 2016 SCC 43, para. 32: the proposed sentence should be imposed unless it would bring the administration of justice into disrepute or otherwise be contrary to the public interest. This was not a unilateral request for leniency accepted without a stated legal test.
At paragraph 29, Holmes found no basis to reject the submission under that test and considered it within the appropriate range. The reasons identify the brutality of the offence, Black’s vulnerability and the disrespect shown to her body as aggravating circumstances (para. 25). They identify Laroche’s relative youth and lack of a record at the time of the offence, guilty plea, acceptance of responsibility and remorse as mitigating circumstances (para. 26). Reporting those findings is not an endorsement of the sentence and does not diminish Black’s life.
The sentence and custody credit
- Sentence imposed: ten years’ imprisonment, less pre-sentence custody credit (para. 31).
- First credit period: 126 days from arrest to parole revocation, credited at one and a half days per day, giving 189 days (para. 32).
- Second credit period: 236 days after revocation, credited one for one (para. 32).
- Total credit: 425 days, expressed by the court as 14 months; the remaining term was eight years and ten months (para. 32).
The reasons also impose firearms prohibitions and a DNA-sample order (paras. 34–35). Those ancillary orders should not be confused with the prison term or with Laroche’s separate life sentence.
The separate Manitoba conviction and parole history
Paragraph 19 records a September 1996 killing in Winnipeg and a 1997 conviction for second-degree murder. The court nevertheless treated Laroche as a first-time offender for this sentencing. The chronology is important: the offence involving Black occurred in 1993, before the later Manitoba offence. The reasons do not say that the Manitoba conviction did not exist.
Paragraphs 20–21 record day parole in December 2005, full parole in January 2008, suspension in September 2009 and full parole again in early January 2014. A life sentence commencing in 1997 therefore should not be described as uninterrupted imprisonment since 1997. The ten-year manslaughter sentence imposed in 2020 and the earlier life sentence are distinct.
September 2026 update: what CSC and CTV report
In its September 16, 2026 release, Correctional Service Canada says Steven Laroche, 58, died in custody at Mission Institution on September 11. CSC says he had been serving a life sentence that commenced on December 19, 1997. The visible release also states that CSC policy requires notification of the coroner in inmate deaths.
CTV News reports that CSC confirmed by email that the man who died was the same Steven Laroche sentenced on November 17, 2020 to an additional eight years and ten months for manslaughter. That email confirmation is attributed to CTV’s reporting; it is not wording found in the CSC release.
Cause-of-death source distinction: the visible CSC release narrative does not specify a cause. The page’s structured-data description and hidden teaser use “apparent natural causes”; CTV reports that CSC did not specify the cause. The metadata wording is not a final coroner finding, and this article does not infer one.
Neither the sentencing decision nor the death announcement establishes judicial misconduct, custodial neglect or a causal connection between Holmes’s sentencing decision and Laroche’s death. No such allegation is made here.
Publication restrictions and reporting limits
No publication-ban notice or anonymity direction appears in the official sentencing reasons reviewed. That is not a determination that no restriction exists anywhere in the court file. The B.C. Supreme Court’s publication-ban guidance says some restrictions operate automatically and directs inquiries about a particular proceeding to its registry. No registry confirmation was obtained. This article stays with the published reasons and attributed official/news reporting, without reproducing exhibits or identifying additional private people.
Source trail
- Official reasons: R. v. Laroche, 2020 BCSC 1930 — heading; paras. 1, 3, 9–14, 19–21, 25–32, 34–35.
- B.C. Supreme Court archive: appointment of Associate Chief Justice Heather J. Holmes — June 22, 2018.
- CSC: Death of an inmate from Mission Institution — September 16, 2026; visible narrative distinguished from metadata.
- CTV News: report linking the death to the 2020 sentencing — secondary reporting of CSC email confirmation.
- B.C. Supreme Court: About Publication Bans — limits of this review.
Research/source note · Existing judge profile and activity record