Man who strangled 27-year-old Edmonton woman gets 10 ½-year sentence

WARNING: This story contains descriptions of violence.

Rows of Lauren Jarvis's friends and family members sat in an Edmonton courtroom this week and watched images of her appear on a screen.

In a procession of photos and videos, the 27-year-old makes faces next to her friends, and sings in the car with the windows down, laughing.

Ryan Farrell, the man who admitted to killing her, kept his eyes down as he sat in the prisoner's box.

Farrell, 34, was briefly Jarvis's neighbour. He came to Edmonton from Halifax in early 2023 to look for work, moving in with his father, who lived upstairs from Jarvis in a separate suite in the same Westmount fourplex.

Farrell pleaded guilty to manslaughter this week, admitting that on April 2, 2023, he attacked Jarvis, beating her with a walking cane and then strangling her with a rope. Her body was discovered in her bedroom later that day, wrapped in a carpet that was taped shut, her hands and feet bound and a bag over her head.

Court heard that besides living nearby, with suites that shared a common entrance area, the two didn't know each other.

Farrell said he has little to no memory of what he did or why.

Defence lawyer Danielle Boisvert said at the time, Farrell was in a period of stress and isolation that fuelled a "week-long bender" where he was drinking heavily, abusing his prescription Adderall and taking steroids he'd been using to get into bodybuilding.

Farrell was initially charged with second-degree murder, but pleaded guilty to the lesser offence. On Thursday, Court of King's Bench Justice George Fraser accepted a joint submission from the Crown and defence for a 10 ½-year prison sentence.

Boisvert said her client is truly remorseful for his actions, and his guilty plea is part of expressing that.

Crown prosecutor Sandra Christenson-Moore said the plea negotiation came after a preliminary hearing last year revealed potential Charter issues and a "strong basis to challenge some of the evidence that was collected."

Jarvis's brother, Spencer Jarvis, said it's not the conclusion the family wanted.

"It's clear that somewhere along the way there were enough mistakes to lead to a manslaughter charge. We are not happy with this outcome, although we are thankful that Ryan Farrell is at least serving time," he said.