A West Vancouver man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with a high-profile abduction and killing that ended in a quiet North Vancouver street in September 2015.
Tian Yi Zhang, 24, pleaded guilty Thursday in B.C. Supreme Court to the manslaughter and unlawful confinement of Peng Sun, a 22-year-old Chinese citizen, whose body was discovered in the 900 block of Wellington Drive on Sept. 29, 2015. Zhang also pleaded guilty to extortion of Peng’s parents on Sept. 27 and 28, 2015.
On Friday, Zhang’s co-accused, 22-year-old Casey James Hiscoe, of Richmond, also entered pleas in connection with the killing.
Hiscoe pleaded guilty in B.C. Supreme Court to conspiracy to commit unlawful confinement and accessory after the fact to murder.
Details of the case are expected to be outlined in a sentencing hearing for Zhang in court Feb. 21. Hiscoe is expected to be sentenced at a later date.
Zhang had originally been facing a charge of first-degree murder, along with kidnapping and interfering with a dead body, but pleaded guilty to the lesser and included charge of manslaughter following discussions between Crown and defence lawyers, who are expected to present an agreed statement of facts at the sentencing hearing.
The maximum sentence for manslaughter is life in prison, but sentences are usually shorter, with a typical range of between four and 15 years in prison. Sentences can vary greatly depending on the circumstances of the case.
Zhang and Hiscoe were among four men arrested when police officers converged on Wellington Drive – a quiet residential street near Princess Park – around 3 a.m. on Sept. 29 in response to an investigation involving several jurisdictions across the Lower Mainland. Three vehicles, including a white Bentley, black SUV and Chevrolet Malibu, were taken away from the scene by homicide investigators.
Charges of interfering with a dead body against two of the men arrested were later dropped.
Zhang has been held in custody since his arrest 17 months ago.
Few details have been released about the case, including whether there is a connection between the victim and any of the accused.
Zhang and Hiscoe also both face additional charges of kidnapping and assaulting another person in connection with a separate incident that allegedly took place in Richmond two weeks prior to Sun’s killing, on Sept. 9, 2015.
Neither man has entered a plea to those charges.
