A Wallaceburg woman who fatally stabbed a Dover Township man who wanted to have sex with her, despite her refusal, will serve another 990 days in jail.
Kourtny Audette, who turned 29 on Feb. 24, pleaded guiltyAug. 6, 2021, to manslaughter in the April 18, 2018 death of Nick Laprise after initially facing a charge of first-degree murder.
Superior Court Justice Paul Kowalyshyn handed down a sentence of eight-and-a-half years Thursday in a Chatham courtroom on Thursday.
The judge gave Audette 2,112 days of credit for the three years, 10 months and six days she spent in pre-sentence custody since she was arrested on April 18, 2018.
Chatham-Kent Crown attorney Rob MacDonald had asked for a 10-year penitentiary term, along with a lifetime weapons ban, during his sentencing submission. Kowalyshyn made that weapons ban as part of the award.
Audette’s lawyer, Laura Joy, had sought a conditional sentence.
According to a previously agreed statement of facts read into court on Aug. 6, 2021, MacDonald said Audette worked as an escort and that Laprise had been one of her clients.
After arranging to visit Audette, Laprise arrived at her Wallaceburg home on April 18, 2018, MacDonald said. An hour later, police received a 911 call about a stabbing at the home.
Before the 911 call, Audette called her father and stepmother, who came to the home, the court heard. Audette’s stepmother said Audette told her she declined to have sex with Laprise, but he wouldn’t stop, so she stabbed him.
Kowalyshyn said he recognized Audette has no prior criminal record and suffered from underlying mental health conditions.
“But this was violent offence,” the judge said. “Ms. Audette used a large hunting-style knife to inflict the fatal wound.”
Kowalyshyn said Audette stabbed a “defenceless and extremely vulnerable individual and without any warning.”
He said the situation was, at its core, a business transaction entered into by two consenting adults for “sex for hire” that one party decided they did not want to proceed with.
“That decision did not warrant the taking of a life,” the judge said. “It is important that a message be sent to those who choose to arm themselves with a dangerous weapon, whether intended for protection or otherwise, and then proceed to use that weapon in a manner that results in the loss of life of another.”
During the trial, the court heard an emotional witness statement from Laprise’s mother, Natalie Laprise, read by MacDonald.
“I’m having a hard time to find the words to tell you how Nicholas’s murder has impacted my life because there are no such words to describe the pain, anger and despair that I felt from his murder,” Natalie Laprise said.
She said her son’s murder took everything from her, including his laughter, his face, his caring hugs, his helpfulness and his thoughtfulness.
Audette also made an emotional apology during the trial that included offering her deepest sympathies to the Laprise family.
“I regret this every day of my existence. I regret what has happened. I understand the severity of my actions. They haunt me day and night,” she said. “I take full responsibility for everything that has happened, and I am truly and deeply sorry.”