Janson Baker was sentenced Thursday to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years for the double murder of a couple in Dieppe in 2019.
The sentence Justice Cameron Gunn imposed was automatic after a jury in March found the 29-year-old guilty.
Baker was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for killing Bernard Saulnier, 78, and 74-year-old Rose-Marie Saulnier on Sept. 7, 2019.
“The evidence heard by the jury, which they must have accepted, shows that you took the lives of two elderly people in the sanctity of their home,” Gunn said to Baker.
“You herded them like animals into a bedroom, you assassinated them for the price of a gold chain.”
Janson Baker was sentenced Thursday to life in prison with no chance of parole for at least 25 years. He was found guilty by a jury in March of two counts of first-degree murder for killing Bernard and Rose-Marie Saulnier in their home on Sept. 7, 2019.
Moments before, Gunn asked Baker if there was anything he’d want to say to the court before sentencing.
“No, not really, just that it’s under appeal and I’ll have my day in court,” Baker said from the prisoner’s box.
Later, defence lawyer Brian Munro told reporters the case will be appealed.
Bernard Saulnier, 78, and his wife, Rose-Marie Saulnier, 74, were found dead in their Dieppe home on Sept. 7, 2019. (Fair Haven Funeral Home)
The morning began with the judge hearing from members of the Saulnier family, who voiced their grief. Various family members wore shirts with an image of a red rose in honour of Rose-Marie.
Luc Saulnier, the couple’s eldest son, stood at a microphone, pausing for a moment before he began reading his victim impact statement to the judge.
He said no words could adequately convey how the murders affected him and his family.
“Shattered. We are shattered,” Saulnier said.
He said his mother and father were loved by many people. His mother, nicknamed Big Mama, was active, vibrant and a critical support for family, friends and clients of her naturopath business, he said.
Luc Saulnier, the eldest son of the Saulniers, and Diane Thibeault leave the courthouse after Baker was sentenced on Thursday. (Shane Magee/CBC)
Luc Saulnier and others thanked RCMP for their work on the investigation.
He said the trial helped him understand the length and complexity of the police investigation. Baker was charged in 2023, on the fourth anniversary of the couple’s deaths. He also thanked Crown prosecutors and victim services staff.
Rachel Saulnier said her world was turned upside down when she lost her sister and confidante. She recounted how she would visit Rose-Marie and Bernard on Friday nights to play cards, often staying overnight.
She didn’t go to their home on Sept. 6, because of Hurricane Dorian. Baker broke into the couple’s home around 2 a.m. on Sept. 7.
Rose-Marie Saulnier and Bernard Saulnier were found dead in their home on Amirault Street in Dieppe on Sept. 7, 2019. (Court of King’s Bench exhibit/RCMP)
Rachel Saulnier looked across the courtroom toward Baker as she finished her victim impact statement.
“A crime like this can never be forgotten,” she said, breaking into tears.
Nadine Vosburgh, who found the Saulniers’ bodies, said in a statement read by a prosecutor that she remains haunted by that day.
Vosburgh had dated the couple’s son, Sylvio Saulnier, and was close with his parents. The trial heard she was also threatened around the time of their deaths.
Vosburgh said after the murders, she had to flee with her son to a crisis support centre, where she remained for two years out of concern for their safety. She described wearing a panic button because they were considered high-risk victims.
In sentencing Baker, the judge said society is supposed to care and cherish its elders.
“You give them peace and comfort in their final years,” Gunn said. “You did the opposite. You stole from the Saulniers’ final years, and you made their final moments one of terror.”
Justice Cameron Gunn presided over the Janson Baker jury trial and sentenced him on Thursday. (Andrew Robson)
Baker’s trial began in early January and heard from more than 30 witnesses over two months. The 12 jurors reached their verdict March 2 after several days of deliberations.
First-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for at least 25 years.
Baker’s sentences will be served concurrently, or at the same time. He was also ordered to have no contact with various members of the Saulnier family and others.
The jury heard Baker was directed by a drug trafficking group to find and kill the couple’s son, Sylvio Saulnier.
The son, who lived with his parents at the time, was involved in the trafficking group. After a series of police raids targeting the group, its members came to believe Sylvio Saulnier had stolen from them and may have been a police informant.
The jury heard Baker was paid with a gold chain for the murders.
Baker still faces trial related to the events. He’s one of five charged with conspiring to kill Sylvio Saulnier. No trial date has been set for that case.