A Richmond woman who bludgeoned her husband to death has been sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 11 years.
In March, a B.C. Supreme Court jury found Jo Anne Alexander, 63, guilty of the January 2012 second-degree murder of John Alexander, 61.
Second-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison with a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 25 years of parole ineligibility
At issue at a sentencing hearing for Alexander last week was the period of parole ineligibility, with the Crown calling for a period of 12 years before she can apply for parole and the defence asking for the minimum of 10 years.
In imposing a period of a parole ineligibility of 11 years on Alexander, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Jeanne Watchuk noted that the offender had struck her husband over the head while he was sleeping, lying defenceless in his bed.
The judge found it to be an aggravating factor that Alexander was a caregiver to a vulnerable victim. Court heard that John Alexander, who suffered from depression, was recovering from surgery at the time of the slaying.
Watchuk also dismissed the claims of Alexander that her husband was harming himself by sticking a knife in his ear just prior to her striking him over the head with a baseball bat or a hammer.
The judge imposed her sentence on Alexander on Tuesday.
Court heard that the couple had been under severe financial distress, were living off the proceeds from the sale of their home and had to borrow from friends and family.
In one letter to her family, an apparently suicidal Alexander said the couple was facing “financial ruin” and that her husband didn’t get it, so she was taking him with her.
More stories at theprovince.com
