Kelowna woman pleads guilty in death of Matthew Cholette

Photo: Contributed

Matthew Cholette

A 35-year-old Kelowna woman has entered a plea of guilty in relation to the Dec. 12, 2020 death of Matthew Cholette, who was 27 at the time.

Marlena Melissa Isnardy was originally charged with second-degree murder, but in Supreme Court Tuesday morning, she pleaded to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Justice Steven Wilson accepted the plea after the charge was read to Isnardy.

Cholette's body was discovered in the parking lot of the recently opened Margret's Landing subsidized housing in the Black Mountain area late on the evening of Dec. 13, 2020.

Police had been called for reports of a disturbance at the complex.

At the time RCMP said a 32-year-old woman had been taken into custody but was later released without being charged.

Isnardy was arrested 14 months later and charged with second degree murder. She has since been released on bail.

A pre-sentence report has been ordered for Isnardy.

Crown prosecutor David Grabavac expects the report to take eight to 10 weeks to complete.

The parties will be back in court June 3 to fix a date for sentencing.

While a second-degree murder conviction requires the intent to kill or cause bodily harm that's likely to cause death, manslaughter is defined as homicide without the intent to kill. While manslaughter carries no minimum sentence and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, sentences generally range from four to 15 years.

Photo: Rob Gibson/file