A British Columbia man who killed his former girlfriend’s mother, bound her body and buried it in a forest will spend two years in prison after court delays and weaknesses in the Crown’s case helped produce a sentence below the usual manslaughter range.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice David M. Layton accepted a joint sentencing submission for Carson Saul MacKay, 33, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the November 2022 death of 57-year-old Jodine Millar.

MacKay was initially charged with second-degree murder.

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According to the agreed facts, Millar was holding a steak knife and experiencing a manic episode when she confronted MacKay inside the Coquitlam home they shared. MacKay pushed her to the floor during an altercation and left the room.

He returned approximately 10 minutes later and found Millar in a pool of blood after the knife became lodged in her body during the fall.

Rather than call police, MacKay wrapped Millar’s body in blankets and bound it with tape, rope and a dog collar. He transported her in her own vehicle to Burke Mountain, buried her in a clandestine forest grave and reported her missing the next day.

Her decomposed remains were recovered in May 2023 with damage consistent with scavenging by large animals.

Layton called MacKay’s treatment of the body particularly aggravating. Millar was killed in her home, which should have been a place of safety, and her family was denied the opportunity to mourn and bury her properly.

However, Layton also considered the single push, the brief altercation, the element of chance in Millar’s death, MacKay’s lack of a criminal history and his early guilty plea.

The plea also spared the Crown from several serious legal problems.

The court acknowledged that MacKay’s trial would have concluded approximately six months beyond the 18-month ceiling established under R. v. Jordan. MacKay could have sought a stay of proceedings for unreasonable delay.

He also surrendered what the court described as “very viable” arguments to exclude Crown evidence over alleged Charter violations, along with an identification challenge arising from weaknesses exposed during the preliminary inquiry.

Manslaughter without a firearm normally attracts a sentence ranging from four to 15 years. Layton ruled that the unusual circumstances justified a sentence below that range.

MacKay received two years and 99 days, reduced by 99 days for pre-sentence custody. He is also prohibited from possessing firearms for 10 years following his release.

The full decision, R. v. MacKay, 2026 BCSC 1770, is publicly available. The case was reported by the National Post’s Kenn Oliver.

No publication ban is identified in the judgment.