Life for murder
Grace Robotti will become eligible for parole in 10 years
Penticton resident Grace Robotti has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering the mother of her great-grandson. She can apply for parole in 10 years.
Robotti, 67, was charged with seconddegree murder in the January 2015 death of Roxanne Louie, a 26-year-old member of the Osoyoos Indian band.
Robotti admitted to killing Louie by hitting her in the head repeatedly with a crowbar, but she pleaded not guilty to murder. She did plead guilty to interference with a dead body.
“I am not perfect, but I am not a heartless monster, as I’ve been portrayed,” said Robotti in Kelowna Supreme Court on Tuesday. “Never in my worst nightmare could I have imagined that one day I would be involved in anything so devastating and unthinkable.”
On April 6, after a full day of deliberations, the jury found Robotti guilty of second-degree murder.
On Tuesday, Justice Dev Dley sentenced Robotti to life in prison, the mandatory sentence for second-degree murder, with eligibility for parole in 10 years.
“The horrific circumstances of this offence require that denunciation and deterrence be emphasized,” he said. “Protection of society is of overriding importance.”
Robotti’s brother, Pier Robotti, was also charged in the murder.
He waived his right to be tried by a jury and appeared before a judge alone on March 6. The details of his trial were under a publication ban until the conclusion of his sister’s trial so as not to influence the jury.
Pier, 63, pleaded guilty to interference with a dead body and Crown counsel dismissed the second-degree murder charge against him.
“I terribly regret and am sorry for the events that happened that night, and especially the week of uncertainty for the Louie family, and I totally really regret the loss of their loved one,” Pier said in court on Tuesday.
Dley sentenced both Grace and Pier to 27 months in jail, minus three months credit for time served, for the charges of interference with a dead body.
Grace Robotti will serve her two-year sentence concurrently with her life sentence.
“For Roxanne’s loved ones, there are no words that can bring Roxanne back,” Robotti said with her back to the gallery on Tuesday. “I wish I could turn back the clock, and I’m sorry I can’t. Today I will leave here with my sadness and regret, and in hindsight, and a very clear head, there’s not a day that goes by that I (don’t) think about what could have been said, what could have been done or not, and I think about that all the time, what could have been done differently that may have resulted in a less tragic outcome.”
Sometime after midnight on Jan. 4, 2015, Louie and Robotti got into an argument concerning the care of Louie’s son.
The argument took place in Robotti’s Penticton home, where Louie and her son had been staying during the holiday season.
Louie threw a small crowbar in Robotti’s direction, hitting the wall a couple of feet away. She then picked up the crowbar off the floor, prompting Robotti to grab her arm in an effort to get the crowbar away from her.
During the fight, Pier Robotti arrived at the residence.
After putting Louie’s son back to bed, he saw Louie was on top of Grace Robotti on the floor, with the crowbar in her hand.
Pier pulled Louie off Robotti, threw her onto the floor and tried to subdue her by pinning her to the floor. Grace pried Louie’s fingers apart and picked the crowbar up after it fell to the ground and struck Louie in the head with it about 26 times.
A pathologist testified that at least a dozen blows were delivered to Louie’s head while she was either immobile or unconscious.
The cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma.
Robotti testified that she did not mean to kill Louie, she only wanted Louie to stop fighting.
“It is apparent from the number of blows struck with the crowbar that Ms. Robotti meant to cause bodily harm, which she knew was likely to cause death and was reckless about whether or not it would cause death,” said Dley.
Following the killing, Grace instructed her brother to remove Louie’s body. She gave him the keys to her car and he drove the body out to a wooded area near Naramata, where he pushed Louie down a steep embankment.
Louie’s uncle, Dan Wilson, said he thought the judge was fair given the evidence that was presented to him, but that much of the trial was one-sided. “Roxanne and her mother (Beverly Louie) were not here to defend themselves, and their names were (dragged) through the mud,” he said.
“We want Roxanne to be remembered as the person she was: very loving.”
The family will be focusing on Louie’s son, who is now five years old, said Wilson. “Our focus is to make sure that Roxanne’s son is raised properly and is taught the difference between right and wrong and is shown a lot of love and given that chance to experience a happy childhood, just like everyone should have that right,” he said.
“We’re going to need a lot of counselling and a lot of help and a lot of community support to get through this.”
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, said this case was another “tragic page in the history of missing and murdered indigenous women.” “I’m deeply disappointed,” he said. “The reason we have violence against women and violence against indigenous women and girls is because the criminal justice system and the courts are far too lenient when these cases are brought to trial and the offenders are sentenced.”