Manslaughter
R. v. K.G.B.
A publication ban applies. The offender is not named.
- Below the Crown's ask
Sentence and the Crown's position
What the law allows
The offender pleaded guilty to manslaughter after she and a co-accused beat a man in a school parking lot in Maple Ridge in March 2023; she later used the victim's credit card. The Crown sought eight to nine years and the defence four years. Justice Gottardi imposed five years, less 560 days of credit, giving significant weight to the early guilty plea in the face of triable causation issues, her traumatic upbringing and her rehabilitation while on bail.
In the judge's words
1Your sentence must serve to denounce violence of this nature and deter others who might seek to mete out their own form of rough justice. The sentence also reflects your difficult personal circumstances leading up to and including the time of the offence, as well as the fact that there was a guilty plea, no history of violence, remorse, positive performance on bail, and meaningful rehabilitative efforts.
The record
- Convicted of
- Manslaughter (CC 236)
- Prior convictions
- Not recorded
- At the time of the offence
- Not stated1
- Defence asked for
- 4 years in custody1
- Appeal
- Not yet checked
- Counsel
- Crown: J. Fogel, K. Marino
Defence: B. Andersen, J.L. Dawkins
Sources
- R. v. K.G.B., 2025 BCSC 2574 Court decision, CanLII, December 8, 2025
[6] In the final analysis, the Crown seeks a sentence of eight to nine years for both offenders minus time served for pre-trial custody.
argues that a counsel sentence of four years would be the appropriate disposition for her.
[85] Section 236 of the Code provides that the maximum sentence for manslaughter is life; there is no minimum.
Your sentence must serve to denounce violence of this nature and deter others who might seek to mete out their own form of rough justice. The sentence also reflects your difficult personal circumstances leading up to and including the time of the offence, as well as the fact that there was a guilty plea, no history of violence, remorse, positive performance on bail, and meaningful rehabilitative efforts.
[180] … I must also factor into this sentence the credit of your pre-trial custody. A sentence of five years is 1,825 days in custody. I have determined that you are entitled to credit for 373 days already spent in custody. A rate of 1.5 to one yields a total credit of 560 days.
- R. v. K.G.B., 2025 BCSC 2574 Court decision, Courts of British Columbia