Michael Philip Simard, a Courtenay man convicted of second-degree murder for killing his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend, has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 18 years.
Simard was sentenced Thursday in B.C. Supreme Court in Courtenay.
Simard, 45, was convicted in March of second-degree murder for shooting and killing his former girlfriend, Leanne Larocque, and her boyfriend, Gord Turner.
Larocque’s family members were in court for the sentencing and told CHEK News they were glad to see Simard convicted and sentenced.
But they also expressed bitterness that Simard was not facing two consecutive sentences for killing the two.
The bodies of Larocque and Turner were found in a Courtenay home on Oct. 5, 2016. They had been shot in the head.
Police were alerted by neighbours who reported gunshots. Officers at the scene arrested Simard, who had also shot and wounded himself.
Larocque and Turner had been dating for about eight months before they were murdered.
Turner was the father of three sons and a friend of the Larocque family.
Larocque had worked as a cook in a logging camp and was the mother of two grown children. One of her children, a daughter, had just had her own baby months before the murder.
Larocque’s twin sister, Nicole, told reporters that Leanne was delighted at the idea of being a grandmother.
