Manslaughter
R. v. Ognibene-Hebbourn
Sentence and the Crown's position
What the law allows
Dante Ognibene-Hebbourn pleaded guilty to manslaughter for repeatedly kicking and stomping on a security guard at UBC Okanagan in Kelowna in February 2022 while in a substance-induced psychosis; she died the next day. The Crown and defence jointly proposed 15 years' imprisonment. Associate Chief Justice Holmes accepted the joint submission and imposed 15 years, at the top of the usual range for manslaughter, with credit of about 1,705 days for pre-sentence custody.
In the judge's words
1In my view, the sentence proposed in the joint submission properly reflects the circumstances and the governing law, and is consistent with the case authorities. It does not offend the public interest test outlined in R. v. Anthony-Cook, 2016 SCC 43. It is at the top of the range for manslaughter offences that do not have unusual or special circumstances.
The record
- Convicted of
- Manslaughter (CC 236)
- Prior convictions
- 0 prior convictions1
- At the time of the offence
- Not stated1
- Defence asked for
- 15 years in custody1
- Appeal
- Not yet checked
- Counsel
- Crown: D.F. Grabavac, K.J. Dodds
Defence: G.J. Gray
Sources
- R. v. Ognibene-Hebbourn, 2025 BCSC 992 Court decision, CanLII, May 14, 2025
[3] The Crown and the defence jointly propose a sentence of 15 years' imprisonment, at the top of the usual "range" of manslaughter sentences.
[3] The Crown and the defence jointly propose a sentence of 15 years' imprisonment, at the top of the usual "range" of manslaughter sentences.
[1] Dante Ognibene-Hebbourn has pleaded guilty to manslaughter
[22] Mr. Ognibene-Hebbourn has no criminal record.
[54] In my view, the sentence proposed in the joint submission properly reflects the circumstances and the governing law, and is consistent with the case authorities. It does not offend the public interest test outlined in R. v. Anthony-Cook, 2016 SCC 43. It is at the top of the range for manslaughter offences that do not have unusual or special circumstances.
[57] I sentence you to 15 years' imprisonment … [58] You will have credit for the time you have spent in pre-sentencing custody, since April 5, 2022. I am told that amounts to 1,136 days. With credit at 1.5 to 1, that means approximately 1,705 days.
- Criminal Code, s. 236 Record, Justice Laws Website
- R. v. Ognibene-Hebbourn, 2025 BCSC 992 Court decision, Courts of British Columbia