Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW)

"The record demonstrates that Mr. McCook's life trajectory has been shaped by systemic and intergenerational forces, including early removal from his family, family disruption associated with the legacy of residential schools, and the normalization of alcohol misuse within his social environment."

"These factors provide important context for understanding his background and inform the Court's assessment of proportionality and the appropriate balance between denunciation, deterrence, rehabilitation, and restraint."

Supreme Court of B.C. Justice Sandra Sukstorf

A person walks up the stairs of the Law Courts building, which is home to B.C. Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, is seen in Vancouver, on Monday, January 12, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

 

Once again, as has been the case since 2014 when the Supreme Court of Canada instituted the Gladue principles to direct judges to take into account specific backgrounds and systemic factors contributing to over-representation of Indigenous men and women in Canada's courts and prisons, a man who was originally charged with second-degree murder in the killing of his wife has received a beneficent reduced sentence for that murder, of significant proportions in terms of time behind bars. 

 

As a result, needless to say, the mother, the woman whose husband murdered her, received no benefit from the Gladue principles, leaving their two young children motherless in their remote Tsek'ehne First Nations community in northern B.C. The community where the couple, their two boys and their extended family live, is a dry community, which prohibits the transportation and possession of alcohol on its territory.  

 

That did not stop the couple from embarking on a long drive of 425 kilometres south to Mackenzie where they bought liquor to the tune of $600. On their drive home they began consuming the alcohol.  Once they arrived back in Kwadacha, the drinking continued. They drank all night and into the morning that followed, during which time McCook, 28, "consumed extreme quantities of alcohol over many hours and became profoundly intoxicated", stated Judge Sukstorf.  

"[When a police officer opened the passenger door to check on her], he observed that Ms. Poole had a visible facial wound, and upon closer examination, he concluded that she was deceased."

"[A post-mortem toxicology report measured her blood alcohol concentration at 0.281 grams per 100 millimetres], a level consistent with severe intoxication and significant cognitive and motor impairment."

Justice Sandra Sukstorf

Brent Angus McCook was “profoundly intoxicated” in the shooting of his wife, Rochelle Poole. (Tingey Injury Law Firm/Unsplash)

 

The binge was a 17-hour marathon for the two young parents, Brent McCook and Rochelle Poole, on January 24, 2023. Neighbours, witness to the unfolding event, testified that although it was noticed that McCook's state of inebriation was affecting his mood, added that the couple's relationship, in their opinion was without friction and "described their interactions as calm and affectionate". Those neighbours, it seems, were relatives on McCook's side.

 

Mid-morning of the day the killing occurred, the couple had embarked on a drive around town with two of McCook's cousins. Some time later, Jason McCook, hearing gunfire from his home two doors away from the couple's house, looked out and saw his cousin standing next to his truck, a rifle in his hands. Jason McCook approached his cousin Brent  until his cousin fired in his direction, causing him to retreat, another bullet following him. Jason called local the emergency response centre, then managed to subdue his cousin and take possession of the gun. 

 

"It was like no one was home, like the lights were on but no one was there", Jason testified in court. A number of officers and witnesses at the scene described the drunk man as "incoherent, erratic, confused, and severely impaired immediately before and after the event". Rochelle Poole, seated in the truck's front seat was thought to be in deep sleep following her heavy drinking bout. Her death was apparent only after the RCMP arrived.

 

It was determined by police that McCook was inside the family home when he first fired his rifle at the vehicle, the bullet hitting Pool's head. No evidence was found by police that McCook knew his wife was in the vehicle when he shot at it. Nor were they able to establish whether from standing inside the house he could see that his wife was seated in it. Defence counsel sought a sentence of five years. The Crown felt 16 years appropriate, arguing the fatal incident occurred within "a broader pattern of intimate partner violence ... rather than as an isolated event".

 

Supporting that contention was testimony from two witnesses, two of Poole's cousins who testified that she had made remarks of her husband's abuse. Poole once said, according to one of the cousins, something to the "effect that if she ever died, Mr. McCook would be the one who killed her". And though the judge thought this credible, she ruled Crown counsel failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that this was an issue of intimate partner violence. A sentence of 7 years was appropriate, in her judgement.

 

Giving McCook a sentence of six years and nine months last month at the sentencing hearing in Prince George, McCook now has two years less six days to serve on his sentence, given credit for time served in custody awaiting trial and sentencing. Three years of probation and a lifetime ban on gun ownership.

 

 

"On the evidence before me, I am satisfied that the relationship between Ms. Poole and Mr. McCook was marked by alcohol-fuelled instability."

"The fact that the offence was committed against an intimate partner remains highly relevant to the sentencing analysis. However, the Crown has not established that the offence itself was the culmination of a pattern of intimate partner violence."

Justice Sandra Sukstorf