10.5 years in prison for man in 2023 death of woman in her Edmonton home

A man who killed a 27-year-old stranger will spend more than 10 years in prison. CTV News Edmonton's Amanda Anderson has the story.

A man has been sentenced to 10.5 years in prison for the death of Lauren Jarvis.

The decision was handed down in an Edmonton courtroom on Thursday.

“We are not happy with this outcome, although we are thankful that Ryan Farrell is at least serving time,” said Spencer Jarvis, Lauren’s brother.

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Ryan Farrell pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 27-year-old’s death on Wednesday.

“I’m not a lawyer. I don’t claim to know law or how to run a police squad,” said Spencer.

“But it’s clear that somewhere along the way there were enough mistakes to lead to a manslaughter charge,” he said.

Lauren’s closest friends are also upset with the outcome.

“This isn’t close to justice. I thank the Crown prosecutor for the time and effort that she put into this file but our system is still broken. We’re never going to get Lauren back,” Casandra Wildermuth said before breaking down in tears.

“It’s not enough, it will never be enough,” said Jaydan Callis.

“I will be terrified of him, I will be terrified of men, I might not ever leave my house again. I’m so scared of the senselessness and the randomness of it all,” she said.

According to an agreed statement of facts, on the morning of April 2, 2023, Farrell hit Lauren multiple times with a walking cane and tied a white rope around her neck.

An autopsy concluded she died from a combination of blunt force trauma and strangulation.

The court heard Farrell then took “significant steps” to hide what he had done.

According to the agreed facts, Farrell bound Jarvis’ hands and feet, put a bag over her head and wrapped her body in a carpet.

He also tried cleaning blood that was tracked onto the stairs leading to the suite where he was staying with his father.

Farrell was also observed to have scratches on his face and forearm when later spoken to by police.

“This is like a movie. This can happen to anybody. This could happen to one of your family members and then you would want to see change too,” said Wildermuth.

She wants to see changes to the justice system including stiffer penalties.

Farrell was given a chance to address the court before his sentence was given.

“I think I will stay silent, Justice,” he said from the prisoner’s box.

“If he even stood up and made a statement such as, ‘Nothing I can ever say or do will make this better, I’m sorry,’ something along those lines would have been better than nothing,” Wildermuth said, adding, “nothing speaks louder than words.”

Justice Jody Fraser turned to Farrell during his ruling and said he hopes he will acknowledge his actions and the impact it has had on Lauren’s family and friends.

“You owe society a great debt after your actions,” Justice Fraser said.

“You have a lot of making up to do for the rest of your life, sir,” he added.

Farrell was given three years credit for time spent in pre-trial custody, leaving him with seven and a half years left in his sentence.

“No amount of time will bring Lauren back. This was a disgusting and random act of violence from a complete stranger to Lauren,” said Spencer.

“Ryan will likely live a full life after prison while my family, as well as Lauren’s friends, will serve a lifetime without her,” he said.