Ex-fiancée’s death an ‘unspeakable crime’

37-year-old Kelowna man handed 12-year sentence for fatally stabbing his former partner 26 times

KELOWNA — A man who admitted to stabbing his ex-fiancée 26 times after she told him to move out because of his crack-cocaine habit has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Ryan James Quigley, 37, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of Aimee Parkes, who was found dead in the couple’s mobile home.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Alison Beames said Parkes was defenceless when she was attacked.

“Mr. Quigley, you have committed an unspeakable crime that has wounded many people. I hope that includes you,” Beames said.

Quigley nodded, but chose not to speak before sentencing.

His lawyer told the court his client was sorry.

Quigley was arrested on April 4, 2014, as he slept in an SUV downtown, three days after police found 35-year-old Parkes’ body inside the unit. The couple had been together for about two years.

They had been engaged until about six weeks before Parkes’ death, when she ended the relationship due to his crack-cocaine addiction, court heard. Parkes tried several times to get Quigley to leave and he finally agreed he’d move out at the end of the month in March 2014.

On the night of March 31, 2014, Quigley stabbed Parkes 26 times in the head, neck and upper torso, front and back. Court heard he left her on the floor to die, where she was found the next morning after co-workers called police, saying she did not show up for work.

Parkes’ mother Janice Plum, who travelled from England to attend the four-week trial, read a victim impact statement to the court.

Plum said Parkes was born in Canada, but the family moved to the United Kingdom when her daughter was four. She returned to Canada in 2010.

“We all thought Aimee returning to live in Canada would give her a better life.”

When she received the news of her only daughter’s death, Plum said she was stunned.

“I remember starting to scream,” she said. “I was hysterical. There are no words to describe the emotion a parent feels at the moment they learn their child is dead.”

Parkes was scheduled to return home to England for a visit around the time she was killed.

“I find it hard to understand that the accused was granted bail and he has had the freedom and the privilege to spend his days with his family,” Plum said. “Aimee will never have that chance and I am struck by the unfairness of that daily.”

Quigley admitted at the start of the trial that he killed Parkes, but wanted to plead guilty to manslaughter, not second-degree murder. The Crown rejected the plea. On Wednesday, Quigley again pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

This time, the Crown accepted the plea.

“To prove murder, the Crown has a very high burden placed upon it,” Beames said. “Crown must prove that Mr. Quigley had a specific intent to murder Ms. Parkes and Crown has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that no defence applies, including the defence of intoxication.”

Quigley has nine years and five months remaining in his sentence after time already served. He had been on bail and living at his parents’ home for the last 10 months.

“You will honour the memory of Ms. Parkes if you do everything, everything within your power to rehabilitate yourself to treat and constantly maintain your mental health and to stay as far away as you can from a drug that is a source of so much tragedy in our society,” the judge said.

“I wish you good luck in that endeavour.”