A former girlfriend has been charged with the first-degree murder of a Nanaimo man.
Paris LaRoche, 26, has been charged with murder as well as indignity to human remains in relation to the case of Sidney Mantee, who was 33, according to a Nanaimo RCMP press release.
The Crown approved the charges following a two-year investigation into Mantee’s disappearance, say police. Laroche was arrested on Wednesday, March 9, remains in police custody and is scheduled to appear in provincial court in Nanaimo today, March 10.
“The investigation required significant time and police resources,” the release noted. “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.”
A post on LaRoche’s Facebook page from 2016 indicates she and Mantee were in a relationship.
Mantee was reported missing in October 2020 by his family in Saskatchewan, who said it was out of character for him to be out of contact with them, according to an RCMP press release at the time.
In May 2021, forensic investigators were at an apartment building at the corner of Rosehill Street and Vancouver Avenue, and RCMP also closed Diver Lake Park as part of the same investigation. At the time, police said the case related to a missing person who they believed had met with foul play.
In July, RCMP divers searched the waters near Pipers Lagoon and Neck Point parks and police revealed that those searches, as well as the ones in the spring, were related to the case of Mantee.
READ ALSO: Homicide investigation brings RCMP divers to waters off Nanaimo
READ ALSO: Nanaimo RCMP investigating locations where missing person may have met with foul play
READ ALSO: Nanaimo RCMP looking for man who hasn’t been in touch with family for months
editor@nanaimobulletin.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
A charge of first-degree murder has been approved related to the case of Sidney Joseph Mantee, who was reported missing in October 2020. (Photo submitted)
