A former Hanson Island resort caretaker will serve 25 years in prison, with no chance of parole, after pleading guilty to the planned killing of his wife Jennifer McPherson.
Traigo Andretti, 38, pleaded guilty to first degree murder and committing an indignity to a human body/remains on Wednesday in B.C. Supreme Court in Campbell River.
Andretti, who wasn’t represented by a lawyer, told Justice Terrence Schultes he understood what he was doing by pleading guilty, but had little else to say.
McPherson went missing April 29, 2013. She and Andretti worked as caretakers at Pacific Outback Resort on Hanson Island, located near Alert Bay.
On May 1, she was due to meet her two adult daughters at the ferry terminal in Port McNeill. However, when Andretti showed up and told them their mother had gone to Las Vegas, they became suspicious and contacted Alert Bay RCMP.
Police questioned Andretti and were also suspicious. They returned the next day and discovered human remains on the island.
Andretti turned himself into police May 4, and eventually admitted to strangling McPherson, cutting her into pieces, burning some of her body and disposing of her remains in several locations around the island.
He told investigators that he planned to kill her because he was unhappy with their relationship and wanted to stay on Hanson Island while she wanted to leave.
It’s also believed that Andretti is being investigated by police in Winnipeg for the death of Myrna Letandre, 37. She and Andretti may have been involved in a relationship, and then she disappeared in 2006.
Acting on a tip, police found her remains buried in the foundation of a Winnipeg home. The remains were discovered May 6, after Andretti was arrested.