For the parents of Leanne Larocque and Gord Turner, a guilty verdict delivered earlier this week by a B.C. Supreme Court judge was “like a weight lifted off the chest.”
On March 18 at the Courtenay courthouse, Michael Philip Simard was found guilty of two counts of second-degree murder for the pair.
Comox Valley RCMP attended a home on the 2300 block of Urquhart Avenue in Courtenay around 3 a.m. on Oct. 5, 2016, where a woman and a man were found dead. Simard was transported to hospital with a self-inflicted gunshot injury.
Police confirmed Simard, 45, and the couple - Larocque and Turner - knew each other.
“It was a big relief to hear the verdict because there were some issues that had to be really looked at by the judge,” explained Larocque’s father, Ron Kelly. “It really helps because we supported each other and we talked about all sort of issues.”
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Gord Turner’s parents, Ruth and Jim Turner, said while they feel bad for Simard’s family, it’s difficult for all involved.
“We’ve got the support of each other (pointing to Larocque’s parents) and all our family and friends,” noted Ruth. “It really helped because we could go to lunch together and temporary forget it all and then go back into court in the afternoon (during the trial).”
Kelly said the trial took its toll on both families, and the location of the trial added to the stress. Due to lack of courtroom space, the lengthy trial had to be moved from the Comox Valley to Nanaimo. He said both families travelled back and forth nearly every day of the five-week trial.
“It’s pretty draining to go down there every day and come back and do the things that you have to do yourself.”
Both families agreed after two-and-a-half years of waiting, they are satisfied with Judge Douglas Thompson’s decision and await sentencing before fully celebrating the memories of the couple and their lives.
“We’re waiting until after sentencing and then the whole family is going to get together and go to (Leanne’s) favourite fishing spot and let some lanterns off for her and Gord. We’ve done that once already for them and we’re going to do it again,” explained Larocque’s mother Barb Kelly.
“Leanne loved her fishing and camping and she liked to take her nieces and nephews camping with her and she’d take the whole works with her - brave girl - for a night,” she added with a smile.
“That’s the kind of things we’re all going to miss. And her sense of humour. She had a good sense of humour and was a very kind person; she’d give the shirt off her back for anybody.”
Turner had very similar characteristics, his mother explained.
“(He was) caring, kind. He liked fishing and he liked going hunting with (his father Jim). He enjoyed people, he was a friendly-type person who would do anything for anybody.”
Simard will return to court May 7 for sentencing. A second-degree murder count carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. A parole eligibility date for one count will be within a range of 10 to 25 years.
erin.haluschak@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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