Second degree murder
R. v. Fox
Sentence and the Crown's position
Both are life sentences, so the bars compare how long before parole can be considered.
What the law allows
Tanner Sithigarn Fox pleaded guilty to the second degree murder of a man shot at close range outside his Surrey business in July 2022, a killing he and a co-accused were hired and paid to commit. The Crown and defence jointly proposed life imprisonment with parole ineligibility of 20 years. Justice Schultes accepted the joint submission, finding the planning and execution-style nature of the killing supported the period, while Mr. Fox's youth and guilty plea meant a longer period was not required.
In the judge's words
1Approaching it from the point of view of the offence to which the plea has been entered, second degree murder, the degree of moral blameworthiness demonstrated by the extensive steps to prepare for and then escape what was in effect an execution of … as well as the disturbing nature of that execution itself, amply support the period of parole ineligibility that has been recommended. As Brundrett J. pointed out, targeted shootings of this nature strike at the heart of the sense of security that allows a community to function effectively and must be denounced and deterred in the strongest possible terms.
The record
- Convicted of
- Second degree murder (CC 231(7))
- Prior convictions
- Not recorded
- At the time of the offence
- Not stated1
- Defence asked for
- Life, no parole for 20 years1
- Mandatory minimum
- Applied1
- Appeal
- Not yet checked
- Counsel
- Crown: M.J. Stacey, A. Lee, C.J. Banta
Defence: R.S. Fowler, K.C.
Sources
- R. v. Fox, 2025 BCSC 332 Court decision, CanLII, January 28, 2025
[1] Mr. Fox has entered a guilty plea to the offence of second degree murder … The Crown and Mr. Fox's counsel jointly submit that the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment with a period of parole ineligibility of 20 years is appropriate.
[1] Mr. Fox has entered a guilty plea to the offence of second degree murder … The Crown and Mr. Fox's counsel jointly submit that the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment with a period of parole ineligibility of 20 years is appropriate.
[10] As is well known, s. 745(c) of the Criminal Code provides that a conviction for second degree murder carries with it a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment with a minimum period of parole ineligibility of 10 years.
[1] Mr. Fox has entered a guilty plea to the offence of second degree murder
[27] Approaching it from the point of view of the offence to which the plea has been entered, second degree murder, the degree of moral blameworthiness demonstrated by the extensive steps to prepare for and then escape what was in effect an execution of … as well as the disturbing nature of that execution itself, amply support the period of parole ineligibility that has been recommended. As Brundrett J. pointed out, targeted shootings of this nature strike at the heart of the sense of security that allows a community to function effectively and must be denounced and deterred in the strongest possible terms.
[29] Although the exercise of the Crown's discretion in accepting a plea to second degree murder falls outside the court's proper supervisory role … Accordingly, I sentence Mr. Fox to life imprisonment with a period of parole ineligibility of 20 years.
- R. v. Fox, 2025 BCSC 332 Court decision, Courts of British Columbia