First degree murder
R. v. M.R.S.
A publication ban applies. The offender is not named.
Sentence and the Crown's position
Crown askedNot recorded
Judge imposedLife imprisonment, no parole for 25 years (first degree murder)1
What the law allows
MaximumLife imprisonment
Judge imposedLife, no parole for 25 years
The offender was convicted after a judge-alone trial of first degree murder for a prolonged, violent attack on the victim, whose body was later partly burned in a house fire. Justice Muise imposed the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment with no eligibility for parole for 25 years, as required for first degree murder.
In the judge's words
1[7] Pursuant s. 745 (a), a person convicted of first-degree murder is automatically ineligible for parole for 25 years.
The record
- Convicted of
- First degree murder (CC 231(2))
- Prior convictions
- Not recorded
- At the time of the offence
- Not stated1
- Mandatory minimum
- Applied1
- Appeal
- Not yet checked
- Counsel
- Crown: Shauna MacDonald, KC, and Melanie Perry
Defence: Zebediah Brown and Quy Linh
Sources
- R. v. M.R.S., 2026 NSSC 199 Court decision, CanLII, April 20, 2026
[5] Pursuant to s. 235 of the Criminal Code, the mandatory sentence for both first-degree and second-degree murder is life imprisonment.
[7] Pursuant s. 745 (a), a person convicted of first-degree murder is automatically ineligible for parole for 25 years.
[7] Pursuant s. 745 (a), a person convicted of first-degree murder is automatically ineligible for parole for 25 years. Therefore, the period of parole ineligibility ordered for Mr. … must be 25 years. … [102] Mr. … has been found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to imprisonment for life.
- R. v. M.R.S., 2026 NSSC 199 Court decision, Courts of Nova Scotia