WARNING: This story contains disturbing details

A 91原创 man whose actions were described as "monstrous" and "depraved" by a B.C. Supreme Court judge was sentenced to 16 years behind bars in 2024 for the killing of his wife.

Obnes Regis killed Naomi Onotera in the summer of 2021, and he was arrested in December of that year, and remained in custody awaiting trial. He was charged with manslaughter and indignity to human remains. 

After that, relatives and friends of Onotera had to wait two and a half years as the court process ground forward.

Following extensive pre-trial hearings, including lengthy voir dire sessions in which Justice Martha Devlin ruled on whether certain evidence had been gathered lawfully, the trial finally began on May 27.

It proved to be brief.

Crown Counsel Crichton Pike spent three days presenting evidence, including entering voluminous recordings from a "Mr. Big" sting during which Regis had admitted to hitting his wife during an argument, then dismembering her body to hide the evidence.

He had even taken undercover police officers to Fort 91原创 to show them where he had disposed of her bones along the shoreline of the Fraser River.

The Crown also had the video of a lengthy police interrogation that had ended with Regis acknowledging striking Onotera. After that, he broke down and collapsed to the floor of the RCMP interview room, howling loudly.

Facing a mountain of evidence, Regis entered a guilty plea on the fourth day of the trial on May 31.

The court returned in June to consider sentencing, with the Crown asking for 19 years 鈥� 14 years for manslaughter and a consecutive five years for indignity to human remains. Regis's lawyer, Gloria Ng, asked for a 10 to 11 year sentence, calling the incident a "tragic accident."

Onotera's family made emotional victim impact statements.

鈥淢y sister鈥檚 murder is something I will never heal from,鈥� said her sister, Kirsten Kerr, who highlighted the impact the killing will have on Onotera's young daughter.

鈥淚 have no forgiveness in my heart for you, Reg, and every breath you take is a breath wasted,鈥� Kerr said.

Onotera's father, Larry, died the December before the trial began. Her mother Maureen talked about how the couple had never thought they would face their final years without their daughter.

鈥淣aomi was more than my daughter, she was my best friend. Since she was stolen from me, I get through the days, but the joy has gone from my life,鈥� Maureen said.

A statement by Regis expressing remorse to Onotera's family and his daughter was read out in court 鈥� it prompted several of Onotera's relatives to storm out.

In the end, Devlin ruled that Regis should be sentenced to up to 16 years behind bars. With his time already spent in prison counted at 1.5 times credit, as of his June 16 sentencing, he had 12 years, one month, and 17 days left on his sentence.

Outside of court, the family said the sentence should have been longer.

"It would never have been enough, nothing would ever have been enough for what he did," Kerr said. "He's a monster. It's horrific. And we just, we wanted more. I don't feel that justice was served for her."

Regis had no visible reaction when Devlin delivered the sentence.

In addition to being sentenced to prison, Regis will almost certainly be removed from Canada once his time in custody is over.

A Haitian citizen, Regis had spent 21 years in Canada, at first as a university student. He had attempted to gain permanent residency through an earlier marriage, but that swiftly broke up. He had then tried to stay in Canada as a refugee and on humanitarian grounds, but those attempts were also rejected by immigration authorities.

Regis had been able to stay in Canada because Haiti had been through so many crises over the past 20 years 鈥� including devastating hurricanes and earthquakes, as well as violent political upheaval 鈥� that Canada deferred removals of Haitian nationals.

However, that deferral does not apply to people convicted of major crimes. Even if a deferral is in place when his sentence is over, Regis will likely be removed from the country.