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Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

Teens sentenced for roles in deadly botched carjacking

By: Mike McIntyre

Posted: 08/16/2012 5:04 PM | Last Modified: 08/16/2012 5:21 PM | Updates

Roberta McIvor (SUPPLIED PHOTO)

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE — Two Manitoba teens have been sentenced for their roles in a botched carjacking which ended with the owner being accidentally decapitated at the side of a highway.

The girls were 17 and 15 at the time of the July 2011 incident that left 32-year-old Roberta McIvor dead. Both pleaded guilty earlier this year to manslaughter and car theft. They returned to court Thursday to learn their fate.

Provincial court Judge Heather Pullan gave the pair the maximum youth sentence of two years jail and one year of community supervision. However, both were given credit for a year of pre-trial custody, leaving them with 12 months going forward.

Defence lawyers had asked for no further jail time. The Crown wanted two more years, saying Pullan didn't have to give any credit for time served under the YCJA.

It was an emotionally-charged sentencing hearing that had to be moved from Sandy Bay First Nation to nearby Portage la Prairie because of serious threats made against the pair and their families.

Crown attorney Joyce Dalmyn said many residents continue to wrongly believe the girls committed a "ritualistic murder" based on Satanic beliefs and have vowed revenge. There are also those who think there was a sexual element to the grisly crime.

Speculation ran wild because McIvor’s body was found nude, an apparent result of her clothes coming off as she was being inadvertently dragged by her own vehicle after the two girls stole it. It appears someone also moved her headless body off the side of the road and placed it in a posed position, arms crossed, without explanation, court was told, ...a fact the Crown says has led to increased suspicion in Sandy Bay.

McIvor had passed out in her 2005 Chevy Impala following a night of drinking in Sandy Bay. She was upset because her boyfriend had been arrested by RCMP earlier that night. She had a friend act as designated driver, but was left behind in her own vehicle when that person went inside a home to party, court was told. The keys were still in the ignition.

The two teens — both drunk and possibly high on drugs — saw an opportunity for a "joyride" and jumped inside the vehicle, driving away with McIvor still out cold inside. After a few minutes they decided to lighten the load by dumping McIvor.

That’s when things went horribly wrong. McIvor became entangled in her own seat belt as the girls sped off, the music blasting and apparently unaware of what was happening. McIvor was dragged for approximately one kilometre until she was decapitated.

The girls continued on their way, ditching McIvor’s car only when it ran out of gas. They laughed and joked with other friends about how they’d stolen the car — but were reduced to tears hours later upon learning of the death they’d caused.

An area resident found McIvor’s body, initially believing it to be that of a large dog which was apparently a common sight in Sandy Bay, court was told. Another resident found her head a short time later.

A report on the aboriginal background of the two accused was a focal point of defence submissions. Both have grown up in troubling conditions, including poverty, abuse and neglect. The 18-year-old girl already has two young children, the first coming when she was just 13. The 16-year-old has nine siblings.

Both girls are planning to live in Winnipeg upon their release from jail and hope to upgrade their education, court was told.

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