Penticton woman pleads guilty in overdose death of boyfriend

UPDATE: 11:30 a.m.

Lorrie Blackmore broke down with emotion in the Penticton courtroom when she heard Keira Bourque say the word: Guilty. 

"It's been a long three years. Very emotional," Lorrie said. 

She is Devon Blackmore's mother, and was expecting the trial charging 22-year-old Bourque with the manslaughter of her son to move forward in six weeks.

Instead, Bourque changed her plea, much to the shock of Devon's family who were in the courtroom.

“While I was not looking forward to sitting through a trial and hearing every minute of how Devon passed away, at the same time I was very much looking forward to having a jury say the word ‘guilty,'" Lorrie said. 

Bourque is believed to have unintentionally caused the death of her 17-year-old boyfriend Devon in April 2017 by injecting him with morphine at his request to relieve pain. The death was initially classified as an overdose, but Bourque was charged with a single count of manslaughter on May 28, 2018.

“That day that he died could have gone a number of ways. She could have called his parents, she could have called 911, but she chose to do what she did. And nothing is going to change that," Lorrie said. 

Lorrie had praise for the investigators who were involved in her son's case, thanking them for believing her when she sensed something wasn't right about Devon's death.

She remembers her son as a kid who could fit in with anyone, and his loss is a pain that will always be with her.  

"We miss him every second of every day," Lorrie said. "We have 17 years of memories, but we'll have another 40 years with missed birthdays, and missed Christmases, no grandkids from him."

Lorrie wants to see Bourque serve time, but is trying not to get her hopes too far up. 

"She might only get a couple years,” she said. 

Bourque had no comment for media as she exited the courtroom. She will undergo a full psychiatric report as part of a pre-sentencing report, then be back in front of the court for sentencing on June 8. 

ORIGINAL: 10:30 a.m.

A young Penticton woman has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of her teenage boyfriend in 2017. 

Keira Bourque, 22, entered the surprise plea Monday in Penticton, six weeks before her jury trial was expected to start. 

More to come...

-with files from Colin Dacre