Crown seeks 7-9 year prison sentence for Vernon’s manslaughter of Kelowna woman

A woman who pleaded guilty to manslaughter after killing a Kelowna woman with a bottle of wine in a Vernon hotel room could be sentenced to up to nine years in prison.

Paige Courtney Howse, 30, was in BC Supreme Court in Vernon on Friday, May 17 for a sentencing hearing more than four years after killing Alishia Lemp, 33, on February 27, 2020.

Howse was initially charged with second-degree murder, but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in September 2023.

In an agreed statement of facts, Crown lawyer Margaret Cissell told the court Howse and Lemp were friends and both worked in the sex industry.

She said that on the night of the murder, Lemp purchased a 1.5 liter bottle of wine and brought it to room 206 at the Canada Best Value Inn and Suites on 32nd Street, where she and Howse were staying, after a exit between them. at the Lake City Casino.

“It is believed that the wine bottle was used by Ms. Howse to deliver several blows, resulting in the death of Ms. Lemp on the morning of February 27, 2020,” Cissell said.

In the late hours of February 26, Howse and Lemp are seen in security video returning to the hotel.

“This is the last time Ms. Lemp is seen alive, as she enters room 206 and never leaves,” Cissell told the court.

The court heard other hotel guests heard “screaming and arguing” coming from the hotel room in the early hours of the morning of February 27. One person reported hearing bangs that lasted for about three hours.

Later that morning, the Crown said a hotel guest was contacted by Howse on Facebook Messenger, saying “something bad had happened, she and her friend had an argument and she didn’t think not that she was breathing. The man told Howse to call 911. She did not do so and instead asked him if he had any alcohol.

The man went to Howse’s room, but Howse refused to open the door for him. She asked him if he knew CPR; He does not have. The man looked out the window of the room and saw a woman lying face down on the ground.

Howse was seen on CCTV video leaving the hotel room on the morning of February 28. Cissell said that was the last time she was seen before she was located and detained by police in Kelowna on March 1.

Later on February 28, two staff members entered the hotel room and discovered a trail of blood leading from the front door to the toilet. They followed the trail of blood to the bathroom, where they found Lemp’s body.

The police quickly arrived at the scene and found that Lemp’s body was already cold and his fingers had turned gray. They found the hotel room to be in disarray, with broken windows and computer parts strewn about, cans of alcohol on the floor and the room’s television face down on the bed.

“Hundreds” of bloodstains were found in the hotel room, Cissell told the court.

An autopsy revealed that Lemp died from blunt force trauma to the head and that among her injuries were multiple fractures to her skull.

The Crown asked Howse to spend seven to nine years in prison while defense lawyer Mark Swartz argued for a prison sentence of one to four years less time served and followed by two years of probation.

Swartz argued that it’s unclear what exactly happened in the hotel room the night Lemp died. He pointed to the fact that Howse was left with two black eyes and broken nails, suggesting that Howse may have been trying to defend herself.

“I don’t think the court can draw any conclusions about who initiated the case,” Swartz said.

Swartz went on to state that his client had an “unfortunate history,” adding that she had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. He said Howse may have been experiencing a psychotic episode at the time of the incident.

Cissell, however, said she believed Howse’s schizophrenia was not a significant factor in the murder.

Cissell called Howse a “poor historian”, saying her story about her past upbringing and relationships changed depending on who she talked to. Cissell added that Howse appeared to have difficulty with her memory, noting that there were inconsistencies between what she remembered and what she did not remember throughout the case, whether due to medications she was currently taking or taking at the time of the murder.

Howse was supposed to appear in person at the sentencing, but Judge Ann Donegan said there had been a “confusion” so she appeared by video. At the end of the sentencing hearing, Donegan gave Howse the chance to speak. Howse apologized for the “choices” she made, particularly her decision not to call 911.

Donegan reserved judgment. Howse is scheduled to appear in person in Vernon on Friday, May 31 for Donegan to make his decision.

READ MORE: Accused in manslaughter of Kelowna woman at Vernon motel, sentenced in May