Life Sentence for Man Who Fatally Beat Ex-Girlfriend with Baseball Bat

The B.C. Supreme Court has handed down a life sentence to Luciano Mariani for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Caroline Bernard, whom he attacked with a baseball bat while she slept beside her young child in 2021. This heinous act was characterized by the court as a planned crime of "obscene brutality," highlighting the premeditated nature of the violence.

Mariani had originally pleaded guilty to first-degree murder but later took legal action against a part of Canada's Criminal Code that barred anyone convicted of such a crime from seeking parole for 25 years. In a ruling made earlier this year, the court agreed that it was unconstitutional to apply this blanket rule to all offenders, though Justice Robin Baird stated that in Mariani's case, the severity of his actions justified the mandatory penalty.

The ruling elaborated on the exceptional violence of the murder and Mariani's callousness toward someone who was vulnerable, indicating that his actions had a devastating impact on Bernard's family and the wider community. Although there is a possibility for Mariani to request a reduction in his parole eligibility after 15 years, the judge warned that approval is not guaranteed, noting that serious offenders often face extended periods before being granted parole, if at all.