A British Columbian woman convicted of fatal beatings and running despite her “sophisticated alibi”, which included fake letters and lies that her truck had been stolen by a fraudster, lost her sentence.
In a ruling released Wednesday, the British Columbia Court of Appeals rejected Linea Louise Laby’s claim that a sentence of two years less a day in a provincial prison and two years probation was inappropriate.
In 2016, a court heard that Labbee was driving in Chilliwack when she hit a 73-year-old woman on a sidewalk. Labbee and her vehicle were identified by a number of witnesses.
“After hitting and driving over the victim, Ms Labbee pulled her truck and stopped. She looked back at (the victim) lying motionless on the ground, but after a moment she ran away and headed straight for the nearby mall, “the court said.
THE FALSE ALIBI
After Labbee’s arrest, she “told a complicated story” to the police and “maintained her false alibi” until and during her trial in 2021.
In finding Labbee guilty, the judge described in detail the “smokescreen” created in an “attempt to avoid responsibility”.
First, Labbee left the scene and went to a nearby mall, where he had lunch, visited several stores and talked to employees. Her visit to the mall was filmed by surveillance. The judge found that Laby had done this “so that she could tell the police, as she did, that she had been elsewhere throughout the period surrounding the incident.”
Then, after her arrest, the court heard that Labbee had told police that her truck had been stolen and “blamed another person”, even going so far as to provide a detailed description of the suspect.
“The false alibi was not only dishonest, but it prolonged and complicated the investigation,” the judge said.
COUNTERFEIT LETTERS SENT BY HOMEMADE FAX
In an attempt to support her claim that she was in the mall at the time and that someone else was responsible, Labbee provided a series of letters “setting out detailed accounts in support of her alibi.”
During the trial, Crown presented the letters as evidence, noting that they “contain similar spelling and errors” as Labbee is inclined to make. It has also been proven that some of the letters came from her home fax.
It was established that a letter from a bank employee was forged when the cashier was asked to testify and was denied to have written it.
HISTORY OF “CRIMES OF DISGUSTION”
In passing sentence, the judge outlined several other issues when deciding that it would not be appropriate for Laby to serve her sentence in the community. Among them is the fact that she has been driving without a license since 2012 and that she has a criminal record including “convictions for 12 crimes of dishonesty”.
The judge also rejected the defense’s argument that Labbee’s health should be considered a reason to avoid prison, calling allegations of her medical condition “shifting sand” and “unreliable.”
Confirming the verdict, the appellate court agreed that although Labbee did not drive too fast, was not reckless or was reckless when she hit the victim, her actions were then correctly assessed as an aggravating factor.
“She has maintained her false alibi over the years that led to the trial, even falsifying letters from fictitious witnesses and a bank manager in support of it. In the letters, Ms Labbee continued to accuse someone else and falsely accused the police of serious misconduct. During the trial, Ms. Laby testified and maintained her alibi, “court documents said.
The Court of Appeal also agreed that there was insufficient evidence to show that Labbee’s health should be considered a mitigating factor, ultimately rejecting the defense’s argument that Labbee’s sentence should be reduced or served entirely in the community. .
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