A priest exposed as being the father of a now 22 year old son was suspended yesterday by the Catholic Dioscese of Superior, WI by his superiors. Father Henry Willenborg was suspended immediately, according to spokesman Richard Lyons. "He is to step down from active ministry and any involvement in church events until we have a chance to clarify the information that was in the New York Times article today," Lyons said.
Father Willenborg fathered Nathan Halbach after an "affair" with his mother, Pat Bond, currently of O'Fallon, MO, which started back in 1983. The seduction came after he led a Catholic women's retreat. Father Willenborg led Pat aside for a kiss, beginning five years of intimate sexual exploitation, leading to Nathan's birth and the breakup of her existing marriage.
In public, they were both leaders in their Catholic community in Quincy, Ill. In private they functioned like a married couple, sharing a bed, meals, movie nights and vacations with the children.
Eventually they had a son, setting off a series of legal battles as Ms. Bond repeatedly petitioned the church for child support. The Franciscans acquiesced, with the stipulation that she sign a confidentiality agreement. It is now an agreement she is willing to break as both she and her child, Nathan Halbach, 22, are battling cancer.
Ms. Bond retained a lawyer, and the Franciscans gave her $1,000 toward the costs of the birth that were not covered by insurance, and $505 toward baby furniture. The Franciscans further agreed to pay $600 a month for the baby’s first 10 months, until Ms. Bond could return to work in a travel agency, and after that $350 a month in child support until Nathan turned 18. It added up, after bank and legal fees, to about $85,000 paid in a lump sum.
The Franciscans also agreed to pay half of Nathan's University of Missouri tuition until he turned 21 and "extraordinary medical expences" until age 23 and it is thair refusal to do so which led the victims to tell their stories.
According to Nate, "Father" Willenborg never functioned as a father to him, just as a priest. “I’ve always called him Father Henry — never Father, never Dad. I always felt he picked religion over me.”
Most tellingly, the "relationship" ended after another woman showed up to Bond's house and told Pat that Father WIllenborg had been seeing that second victim even since high school. Soon afterwards, the Franciscans sent Willenborg to this order for treatment.
The exposure was assisted by SNAP, who met in St. Louis yesterday, where the regional Franciscan head is based. SNAP wants the Franciscans as well as the Superior Dioscese to pay the 22 year old's medical expenses.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Man sentenced to life in prison for hammer attack of "girlfriend"
A man who was convicted of raping and then beating his now ex-girlfriend with a hammer was sentenced to life in prison yesterday. Fifty-three year old Walter Cordell was convicted of six counts, including attempted murder, rape, and making criminal threats.
Cordell broke up with his girlfriend on May 30, 2008, but he wanted (and got) one last sexual encounter from her. Afterwards, Cordell said he had a "surprise" for her - which turned out to be a beating with a two pound hammer. Cordell then proceeded to rape the victim for hours, leaving her battered, bleeding, and nude on the floor. The perp also took cell phone pictures of the victim in that condition.
The woman fled to her family's restaraunt, where she got medical attention. Deputy District Attorney Lindsey Krause stated that injuried included a broken neck, a broken arm, and deep cuts to the back of her head. Cordell was arrested the next day after a 12 hour standoff.
Defense attorney Megan Marcotte had argued during the trial that Cordell holed up in the house because he was afraid of being sent back to prison. Cordell, a parolee, had served time for a conviction eight years earlier stemming from a similar incident.
The victim of the earlier crime attended yesterday's sentencing hearing. She trembled as she told the judge how she had suffered and even contemplated suicide since Dec. 20, 2000, when Cordell hit her repeatedly in the head with a wooden dowel.
“It has now been almost nine years since I was attacked by a man I considered my best friend,” she said. She described the “odd” expression Cordell had on his face that day when he gave her a Christmas present, a $30 watch in a Cartier box.
“What he took from me had no price,” she said.
San Diego Superior Court Judge John Einhorn gave Cordell life because of his position of trust over the victim, the victim's small frame, and the “high degree of cruelty and viciousness” of the attack. The now 46 year old victim said that “I am not the same person that I was,” she said, adding that she still has nightmares about the attack. “I don't trust men like I used to.”
Cordell broke up with his girlfriend on May 30, 2008, but he wanted (and got) one last sexual encounter from her. Afterwards, Cordell said he had a "surprise" for her - which turned out to be a beating with a two pound hammer. Cordell then proceeded to rape the victim for hours, leaving her battered, bleeding, and nude on the floor. The perp also took cell phone pictures of the victim in that condition.
The woman fled to her family's restaraunt, where she got medical attention. Deputy District Attorney Lindsey Krause stated that injuried included a broken neck, a broken arm, and deep cuts to the back of her head. Cordell was arrested the next day after a 12 hour standoff.
Defense attorney Megan Marcotte had argued during the trial that Cordell holed up in the house because he was afraid of being sent back to prison. Cordell, a parolee, had served time for a conviction eight years earlier stemming from a similar incident.
The victim of the earlier crime attended yesterday's sentencing hearing. She trembled as she told the judge how she had suffered and even contemplated suicide since Dec. 20, 2000, when Cordell hit her repeatedly in the head with a wooden dowel.
“It has now been almost nine years since I was attacked by a man I considered my best friend,” she said. She described the “odd” expression Cordell had on his face that day when he gave her a Christmas present, a $30 watch in a Cartier box.
“What he took from me had no price,” she said.
San Diego Superior Court Judge John Einhorn gave Cordell life because of his position of trust over the victim, the victim's small frame, and the “high degree of cruelty and viciousness” of the attack. The now 46 year old victim said that “I am not the same person that I was,” she said, adding that she still has nightmares about the attack. “I don't trust men like I used to.”
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Ex teacher sentenced to life without parole for murder of love rival
A former teacher was sentenced to life without parole yesterday in a capital murder case stemming from a love triangle between two former teachers. Carla Hughes, a 28 year old mother of a 5 year old son, was sentenced to life without parole for the capital murder of her "love" rival, Avis Banks and her unborn child. The 27 year old Banks was murdered by the then 25 year old Hughes. Banks, who was five months pregnant, was shot four times, stabbed trhree times, and slashed in front of her driveway on November 29, 2006.
The reason for Banks' murder was jealously and a wish for Hughes, a language arts teacher and cheerleading coach at Chastain Middle School in Jackson, MS to steal Banks' man Keyon Pittman, a fellow teacher at the same school. Now 34, married, and living in Detroit, Pittman testified during the trial that though he had a sexual relationship with Hughes, he was still planning to marry Banks - and their wedding day was supposed to be in January 2007.
According to Madison County District Attorney Michael Guest, Hughes "wanted the life Avis Banks had and she believed the only way to get it was to kill Avis and her unborn child."
Banks, 27, was looking forward to having her first child and getting married. The college graduate was working toward her dream of opening her own day-care center.
Meanwhile, Hughes was already a mother and working in the family business - education. She had a master's degree from Belhaven College and completed the coursework for an education speciality degree from Delta State University.
After eight hours of deliberations over two days, thr jury of 9 women and 3 men convicted Hughes of capital murder Tuesday, October 13.
On the other side of the nearly full courtroom, Banks' parents, Frederick and Debra Banks, and about a dozen other family members reacted with quiet sobs and embraces.
"Avis can finally rest in peace," Frederick Banks said after the verdict.
The family has waited for almost three years to see justice, Frederick Banks said. He said pent-up emotions made him feel like someone who has been in jail for three years. He said the guilty verdict allows him to let it out.
Hughes' parents, Carl and Linda Hughes of Noxapater, wouldn't comment after the verdict, but Carla Hughes' aunt, Ruthie Morris, said her niece is innocent.
Her defense attorney, Johnnie Walls, stated that Pittman killed his fiance because he didn't want to be a father, but wanted to stay a womanizer. While Guest did not like Pittman's lifestyle, "he came in here and told the truth. He is no killer."
After the guilty verdict, testimony gravitated to the penalty phase of the trial. Guest said as he tried to persuade the jury to sentence Hughes to death, "This crime was premeditated murder. This was not an accidental death or a heat of passion death. It was premeditated. She hid and waited to shoot Avis Banks when she arrived home."
During the penalty phase of the trial, the prosecution [also] recalled forensic pathologist Steven Hayne to the witness stand to testify about Banks being shot four times, stabbed three times and slashed.
Hayne said Banks probably would have been conscious for 15 or 20 minutes after three of the shots before going into shock and dying. His testimony was to show the manner of Banks' death was heinous and atrocious, an element for sentencing a person to death.
The defense called seven witnesses, including her former pastor and others from her hometown of Greenfield, MS.
Carl Hughes was the final defense witness called in the penalty phase of the trial that has gained national attention through live coverage on national television.
Carl Hughes, a ninth-grade football coach in Greenville, began to cry when he described his daughter and how hard it has been to see her charged and convicted of capital murder.
"That's not Carla the way I perceive her," Carl Hughes said. "I beg you to please spare my daughter."
Carla Hughes' mother also asked the jury to have mercy on her daughter. "She has so much to give," Lynda Hughes said of Carla. She and her husband adopted Carla when she was 6 weeks old.
Armed with an array of awards Carla Hughes had won, Lynda Hughes noted that her daughter has been helping inmates at the Madison County Detention Center to read while she has been incarcerated there and started a Bible-reading session. All the defense witnesses said they have never known Hughes to be violent and she was always a peacemaker.
Hughes' parents and her attorney, Johnnie Walls Jr. of Greenville, made emotional pleas Wednesday to let Hughes live. Walls said Hughes wasn't just a client but a friend he has known all of her life.
At one point, Walls choked with emotion as he spoke to the jury. "I can't believe a woman like that should be put to death," Walls said, fighting back tears. "I ask you to spare her life."
After 52 minutes of deliberation, the jury did just that yesterday. Now Hughes can spend all the time in the world teaching fellow inmates how to read - while Fredreick banks is left to ponder what could have been with his daughter and grandchild.
The reason for Banks' murder was jealously and a wish for Hughes, a language arts teacher and cheerleading coach at Chastain Middle School in Jackson, MS to steal Banks' man Keyon Pittman, a fellow teacher at the same school. Now 34, married, and living in Detroit, Pittman testified during the trial that though he had a sexual relationship with Hughes, he was still planning to marry Banks - and their wedding day was supposed to be in January 2007.
According to Madison County District Attorney Michael Guest, Hughes "wanted the life Avis Banks had and she believed the only way to get it was to kill Avis and her unborn child."
Banks, 27, was looking forward to having her first child and getting married. The college graduate was working toward her dream of opening her own day-care center.
Meanwhile, Hughes was already a mother and working in the family business - education. She had a master's degree from Belhaven College and completed the coursework for an education speciality degree from Delta State University.
After eight hours of deliberations over two days, thr jury of 9 women and 3 men convicted Hughes of capital murder Tuesday, October 13.
On the other side of the nearly full courtroom, Banks' parents, Frederick and Debra Banks, and about a dozen other family members reacted with quiet sobs and embraces.
"Avis can finally rest in peace," Frederick Banks said after the verdict.
The family has waited for almost three years to see justice, Frederick Banks said. He said pent-up emotions made him feel like someone who has been in jail for three years. He said the guilty verdict allows him to let it out.
Hughes' parents, Carl and Linda Hughes of Noxapater, wouldn't comment after the verdict, but Carla Hughes' aunt, Ruthie Morris, said her niece is innocent.
Her defense attorney, Johnnie Walls, stated that Pittman killed his fiance because he didn't want to be a father, but wanted to stay a womanizer. While Guest did not like Pittman's lifestyle, "he came in here and told the truth. He is no killer."
After the guilty verdict, testimony gravitated to the penalty phase of the trial. Guest said as he tried to persuade the jury to sentence Hughes to death, "This crime was premeditated murder. This was not an accidental death or a heat of passion death. It was premeditated. She hid and waited to shoot Avis Banks when she arrived home."
During the penalty phase of the trial, the prosecution [also] recalled forensic pathologist Steven Hayne to the witness stand to testify about Banks being shot four times, stabbed three times and slashed.
Hayne said Banks probably would have been conscious for 15 or 20 minutes after three of the shots before going into shock and dying. His testimony was to show the manner of Banks' death was heinous and atrocious, an element for sentencing a person to death.
The defense called seven witnesses, including her former pastor and others from her hometown of Greenfield, MS.
Carl Hughes was the final defense witness called in the penalty phase of the trial that has gained national attention through live coverage on national television.
Carl Hughes, a ninth-grade football coach in Greenville, began to cry when he described his daughter and how hard it has been to see her charged and convicted of capital murder.
"That's not Carla the way I perceive her," Carl Hughes said. "I beg you to please spare my daughter."
Carla Hughes' mother also asked the jury to have mercy on her daughter. "She has so much to give," Lynda Hughes said of Carla. She and her husband adopted Carla when she was 6 weeks old.
Armed with an array of awards Carla Hughes had won, Lynda Hughes noted that her daughter has been helping inmates at the Madison County Detention Center to read while she has been incarcerated there and started a Bible-reading session. All the defense witnesses said they have never known Hughes to be violent and she was always a peacemaker.
Hughes' parents and her attorney, Johnnie Walls Jr. of Greenville, made emotional pleas Wednesday to let Hughes live. Walls said Hughes wasn't just a client but a friend he has known all of her life.
At one point, Walls choked with emotion as he spoke to the jury. "I can't believe a woman like that should be put to death," Walls said, fighting back tears. "I ask you to spare her life."
After 52 minutes of deliberation, the jury did just that yesterday. Now Hughes can spend all the time in the world teaching fellow inmates how to read - while Fredreick banks is left to ponder what could have been with his daughter and grandchild.
Federal marshal charged with coercing woman into sexual relationship
A 48 year old deputy US marshal was charged with luring, then coercing a woman less than half of his age into a sexual relationship, stating that she would lose her child if she did not comply with his advances.
According to the criminal complaint, 48 year old Timothy Moseley, charged with one count of capturing an image of nudity without consent and two counts of false imprisonment, met the then 20 year old woman online back in April and immediately told her that he was in law enforcement and coerced her into "dating" him.
In the summer, the sexual abuse escalated, with Moseley gagging and binding the woman while taking pictures of her he threatened to post of Facebook. In another incident, Moseley allegedly gave the victim a drink causing her to pass out. When she awoke, she was on his bead, nude and surrounded by rose petals. Investigators found photos of the victim bound and passed out with the rose petals American Beauty style.
Moseley, a supervisory deputy assigned to the Eastern District of Wisconsin, has been placed on paid administrative leave pending a review of his status with the agency, according to Jeff Carter, a spokesman for the U.S. Marshal's Service in Washington, D.C.
Moseley was assigned to the Eastern District in January after being transferred from Wyoming, where he was chief deputy for that district, Carter said in an e-mail.
Moseley made an initial court appearance Tuesday, October 13 and bond was set at $20,000.
According to the criminal complaint, 48 year old Timothy Moseley, charged with one count of capturing an image of nudity without consent and two counts of false imprisonment, met the then 20 year old woman online back in April and immediately told her that he was in law enforcement and coerced her into "dating" him.
In the summer, the sexual abuse escalated, with Moseley gagging and binding the woman while taking pictures of her he threatened to post of Facebook. In another incident, Moseley allegedly gave the victim a drink causing her to pass out. When she awoke, she was on his bead, nude and surrounded by rose petals. Investigators found photos of the victim bound and passed out with the rose petals American Beauty style.
Moseley, a supervisory deputy assigned to the Eastern District of Wisconsin, has been placed on paid administrative leave pending a review of his status with the agency, according to Jeff Carter, a spokesman for the U.S. Marshal's Service in Washington, D.C.
Moseley was assigned to the Eastern District in January after being transferred from Wyoming, where he was chief deputy for that district, Carter said in an e-mail.
Moseley made an initial court appearance Tuesday, October 13 and bond was set at $20,000.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Man who led search for wife he killed sentenced to life without parole for 35 years
A Black River Falls, WI man who killed and then "helped" in the search for her body was sentenced to life in prison with possible release in 35 years yesterday. If Douglas Sidie, now 40, is even released, he'll be under monitoring of the Wisconsin Department Of Corrections for the rest of his life.
Sidie shot to death his ex wife, 27 year old Alisha, using a 22 caliber shotgun to the head in their Hatfield home in Jackson County, WI. He drove her body to Komensky, WI, and left her body face down across a dirt road. Her remains were discovered later.
Meanwhile, Sidie reported Alisha missing, and joined other searchers in trying to find her - actions which rankle the victim's mother, Susan Rowlee.
"Doug searched right alongside me. He promised my grandsons he'd bring Momma home. He knew she was dead and her body was out in the woods. I wake up every morning with a hole in my heart."
The victim's father, Tony Rowlee, said that "For you, Doug Sidie, God might forgive you, but I never will. May you rot and die in prison."
Doug Sidie confessed on November 15 that he had killed his wife in the way described above, leaving 2 year old twin boys without a mother.
Circuit Judge Elliott Levine was brought in from La Crosse county to preside over the trial. John Brinckman, Doug's defense attorney, argued for a 20 to 25 year sentence, while the prosecutor, Jackson County District Attorney Gerald Fox, asked for release after 30 years. The pre sentencing report argued for a life without parole sentence.
In handing down his decision, Judge Levine stated that "When you killed Alisha, you put that bullet not only through her head, but you put it through the hearts of many people sitting in this room. This is a homicide that makes all of us cringe and wonder about humanity."
Brinckman claimed Douglas Sidie was angered by Alisha Sidie's threats to kill his son from a prior relationship but did not plan to shoot her. He delayed his confession so he could spend time with the twins.
"I don't believe his intentions were to torture the public," Brinckman said.
Courtroom tension rose when Douglas Sidie's aunt labeled Alisha Sidie as selfish and verbally abusive. His "stable" life turned "chaotic" when she tried to sever his bond with his other son, Carol Homan told the court.
"Alicia's narcissistic personality caused her own death," she said. "He should not be considered a criminal, rather a victim of abuse."
"Arrest me. That lady is an (expletive) joke," Alisha Sidie's sister, Tracy Rowlee, said as she stormed out the courtroom.
Sidie made a statement to the victims' family, stating that "I know they hate me. I can't say that I blame them," he said. "I can't tell them I'm sorry enough, I can't put it into words … I never meant for this to happen. I never meant for things to go this far."
After the sentencing, the victim's sister Tracy said "I think our family is just kind of like a puzzle with a missing piece. And that's how it's going to be for a long, long time and it will probably always stay like that."
Sidie plans to appeal the sentence.
Sidie shot to death his ex wife, 27 year old Alisha, using a 22 caliber shotgun to the head in their Hatfield home in Jackson County, WI. He drove her body to Komensky, WI, and left her body face down across a dirt road. Her remains were discovered later.
Meanwhile, Sidie reported Alisha missing, and joined other searchers in trying to find her - actions which rankle the victim's mother, Susan Rowlee.
"Doug searched right alongside me. He promised my grandsons he'd bring Momma home. He knew she was dead and her body was out in the woods. I wake up every morning with a hole in my heart."
The victim's father, Tony Rowlee, said that "For you, Doug Sidie, God might forgive you, but I never will. May you rot and die in prison."
Doug Sidie confessed on November 15 that he had killed his wife in the way described above, leaving 2 year old twin boys without a mother.
Circuit Judge Elliott Levine was brought in from La Crosse county to preside over the trial. John Brinckman, Doug's defense attorney, argued for a 20 to 25 year sentence, while the prosecutor, Jackson County District Attorney Gerald Fox, asked for release after 30 years. The pre sentencing report argued for a life without parole sentence.
In handing down his decision, Judge Levine stated that "When you killed Alisha, you put that bullet not only through her head, but you put it through the hearts of many people sitting in this room. This is a homicide that makes all of us cringe and wonder about humanity."
Brinckman claimed Douglas Sidie was angered by Alisha Sidie's threats to kill his son from a prior relationship but did not plan to shoot her. He delayed his confession so he could spend time with the twins.
"I don't believe his intentions were to torture the public," Brinckman said.
Courtroom tension rose when Douglas Sidie's aunt labeled Alisha Sidie as selfish and verbally abusive. His "stable" life turned "chaotic" when she tried to sever his bond with his other son, Carol Homan told the court.
"Alicia's narcissistic personality caused her own death," she said. "He should not be considered a criminal, rather a victim of abuse."
"Arrest me. That lady is an (expletive) joke," Alisha Sidie's sister, Tracy Rowlee, said as she stormed out the courtroom.
Sidie made a statement to the victims' family, stating that "I know they hate me. I can't say that I blame them," he said. "I can't tell them I'm sorry enough, I can't put it into words … I never meant for this to happen. I never meant for things to go this far."
After the sentencing, the victim's sister Tracy said "I think our family is just kind of like a puzzle with a missing piece. And that's how it's going to be for a long, long time and it will probably always stay like that."
Sidie plans to appeal the sentence.
Murphy to Goldberg - rape is rape!
Wendy Murphy's commentaries on victim's rights always leave you thinking. Even though this topic has been flogged to death in the last 2 1/2 weeks, it is interesting (and enlightening) to hear Murphy's opinion on the Roman Polanski case.
Dunbar Village rapists sentenced to life
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Three men convicted of the gang rape of a West Palm Beach woman and the beating of her young son were sentenced to life in prison Tuesday.
Palm Beach Circuit Judge Krista Marx sentenced Jakaris Taylor, 17, and Nathan Walker, 18, to life in prison while Tommy Poindexter, 20, was sentenced to life in prison with a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison. A fourth defendant, Avion Lawson, 16, pleaded guilty and will be sentenced in December.
The four were convicted of barging into the then-35-year-old woman's West Palm Beach apartment in 2007 and raping her repeatedly, then beating her then-12-year-old son and forcing her to perform oral sex on him. They then doused the two in chemicals and left when they could not find a match.
Authorities say fingerprints and DNA found on clothing and condoms in the apartment identified the defendants, who were juveniles at the time of the crime.
The courtroom, packed with family members of the defendants, erupted after the sentence was read, despite Marx's admonishment that those who could not control themselves should leave beforehand. After Poindexter scuffled with a corrections officer, his brother, Masterson Poindexter, yelled out, "What the (expletive) are you doing to my brother."
Then the 13-year-old half brother of Taylor ran past stunned officers and deputies and opened a back door where his brother had been led in shackles. The crying boy was detained by deputies but later freed.
Defense lawyers had argued that the men were juveniles at the time of the crime and sentencing juveniles to life in prison amounts to cruel and unusual punishment — something that does not even occur in Iraq and North Korea. They noted that two similar cases are currently before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Both Public Defender Carey Haughwout, who represents Poindexter, and Robert Gershman, who represents Walker, said they would file motions for new trials and appeal.
Haughwout said she was "disappointed" with the sentence but Gershman said he was not surprised. "I was expecting life based on the facts of the case," he said.
In a statement, State Attorney Michael McAuliffe said, "Today, justice was done for the mother and child who were the victims of a brutal, vicious attack on their bodies and their characters. The blameless in this case are the victims who will likely never fully move beyond one's worst nightmare made all too real."
McAuliffe commended the victim for her "great courage and resolve" in aiding the investigation.
The victim was not present at the sentencing. However, prosecutor Aleathea McRoberts read a letter from her in which she said she and her son were still suffering greatly. In the letter, the victim said she is afraid to leave the house, seeing a psychologist and has been treated for cervical cancer — which she believes is due to the chemicals the defendants put inside her. She said her son is also seeing a psychologist and feels guilty that he could not protect his mother.
The defense attorneys and two psychologists who testified for them argued that the youths were products of troubled upbringings. One was born cocaine addicted, another lost his father at a young age and another was constantly beaten by his grandmother.
Taylor's mother testified that she had been treated for mental illness and alcoholism, and herself was raped twice. "I don't want him to get life," she told Marx. "Every child deserves a second chance."
Taylor's father testified that he was in and out of recovery for drug addiction, saying, "I've battled my own demons." "I'm asking you to give him a second chance and take into account what he has endured," said Nathan Taylor Sr.
But McRoberts countered that, "there is a huge population of kids who were raised by single moms without much money who don't have jobs that never go on to commit crimes."
"This community has a right to be protected from these juveniles," she said. "Short of killing this woman and her son, there is not much worse they could have done."
Judge Marx agreed.
"This was not a garden variety crime by any means." She said. "It was designed to instill fear and invoke terror and gave you all pleasure and excitement. Most of us have a moral code and refrain from wrongdoing. I can only surmise that none of you have a moral code."
Palm Beach Circuit Judge Krista Marx sentenced Jakaris Taylor, 17, and Nathan Walker, 18, to life in prison while Tommy Poindexter, 20, was sentenced to life in prison with a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison. A fourth defendant, Avion Lawson, 16, pleaded guilty and will be sentenced in December.
The four were convicted of barging into the then-35-year-old woman's West Palm Beach apartment in 2007 and raping her repeatedly, then beating her then-12-year-old son and forcing her to perform oral sex on him. They then doused the two in chemicals and left when they could not find a match.
Authorities say fingerprints and DNA found on clothing and condoms in the apartment identified the defendants, who were juveniles at the time of the crime.
The courtroom, packed with family members of the defendants, erupted after the sentence was read, despite Marx's admonishment that those who could not control themselves should leave beforehand. After Poindexter scuffled with a corrections officer, his brother, Masterson Poindexter, yelled out, "What the (expletive) are you doing to my brother."
Then the 13-year-old half brother of Taylor ran past stunned officers and deputies and opened a back door where his brother had been led in shackles. The crying boy was detained by deputies but later freed.
Defense lawyers had argued that the men were juveniles at the time of the crime and sentencing juveniles to life in prison amounts to cruel and unusual punishment — something that does not even occur in Iraq and North Korea. They noted that two similar cases are currently before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Both Public Defender Carey Haughwout, who represents Poindexter, and Robert Gershman, who represents Walker, said they would file motions for new trials and appeal.
Haughwout said she was "disappointed" with the sentence but Gershman said he was not surprised. "I was expecting life based on the facts of the case," he said.
In a statement, State Attorney Michael McAuliffe said, "Today, justice was done for the mother and child who were the victims of a brutal, vicious attack on their bodies and their characters. The blameless in this case are the victims who will likely never fully move beyond one's worst nightmare made all too real."
McAuliffe commended the victim for her "great courage and resolve" in aiding the investigation.
The victim was not present at the sentencing. However, prosecutor Aleathea McRoberts read a letter from her in which she said she and her son were still suffering greatly. In the letter, the victim said she is afraid to leave the house, seeing a psychologist and has been treated for cervical cancer — which she believes is due to the chemicals the defendants put inside her. She said her son is also seeing a psychologist and feels guilty that he could not protect his mother.
The defense attorneys and two psychologists who testified for them argued that the youths were products of troubled upbringings. One was born cocaine addicted, another lost his father at a young age and another was constantly beaten by his grandmother.
Taylor's mother testified that she had been treated for mental illness and alcoholism, and herself was raped twice. "I don't want him to get life," she told Marx. "Every child deserves a second chance."
Taylor's father testified that he was in and out of recovery for drug addiction, saying, "I've battled my own demons." "I'm asking you to give him a second chance and take into account what he has endured," said Nathan Taylor Sr.
But McRoberts countered that, "there is a huge population of kids who were raised by single moms without much money who don't have jobs that never go on to commit crimes."
"This community has a right to be protected from these juveniles," she said. "Short of killing this woman and her son, there is not much worse they could have done."
Judge Marx agreed.
"This was not a garden variety crime by any means." She said. "It was designed to instill fear and invoke terror and gave you all pleasure and excitement. Most of us have a moral code and refrain from wrongdoing. I can only surmise that none of you have a moral code."
Monday, October 12, 2009
Wisconsin Department of Corrections to pay for facial reconstruction for killer of girlfriend
Daryl Stremke, 45, is serving 30 years in prison and will serve another 30 years under extended supervision for blasting his "girlfriend" Samantha "Sam" Verby away. When he tried to commit suicide with witnesses, including Samantha's 7 year old daughter, he failed to do anything but blast away the bottom half of his face.
According to the victim's father Larry, Stremke had set up a campground for them near Comstock, WI, near Staples Lake the night before the murder. On the night of the murder, June 30, 2002, Stremke had came to see Sam, yelling for her to come out. According to her father, this is what happened next.
"She said if you want to talk to me, you can come in here and talk to me. He walked inside the trailer, down the hallway and 10 feet away... shot her in the head. He then shot himself right there."
Larry ran from the Verby's Staples Lake Bar to the scene of the murder. He said this about his granddaughter's trauma from witnessing her mother's murder. "It took quite a long time for her to go to sleep by herself," Verby said. "She was afraid someone else was going to shoot through her room."
Later this month, Stremke will have the first in a series of surgeries to correct his speaking and eating problems. These surgeries will be funded by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections - and therefore, the Wisconsin taxpayer. Including the victim's parents.
This is what Larry has to say about the surgery.
"He has to live with what he did. There's no fixing it now...But when the perpetrator does it himself to himself with the idea that he went there on a death wish in the first place, he did it to himself. And being that he murdered my daughter, I have no sympathy for him."
Alice Verby, the victim's mother echoed her husband's feelings. "Taxpayers feel their money should go to better things than rebuilding his face. He did it to himself. Let him live that way."
Strenke's mother is defending the decision, saying Strenke, 45, is "tortured" by his injuries. He is serving a 60-year sentence, including 30 years behind bars.
Without surgery, Darlene Strenke said, her son would continue to struggle to speak and eat. She said his speech is nearly impossible to understand, and his food must be pureed.
"He doesn't have any teeth. He doesn't have a roof in his mouth, and he's only got part of a nose," she said. "It doesn't matter who they are, what crimes they've committed, (prisoners) still deserve the (medical) care," she said. "They're still a human being."
The Wisconsin Department Of Corrections provides surgeries to prisoners on a "medically necessary" basis. This is because of their mandate to avoid cruel and unusual punishment as stated in the 8th Amendment.
According to WDOC spokesman John Dipko, "Our actions as a correctional health care provider are consistent with this constitutional directive, including instances in which an individual is identified by an outside medical specialist as in need of reconstructive surgery to protect the individual's life and health."
State Rep. Ann Hraychuck, D-Balsam Lake, who was the sheriff of Polk County in 2002 and helped prosecute Strenke, said she sees both sides. Taxpayers don't want their hard-earned money wasted, but the state must care for people in its custody, she said.
"I do understand that institutions are responsible for providing necessary medical treatment," Hraychuck said, noting that as sheriff, she ran the Polk County Jail. "Now my job is to protect taxpayers ... and make sure they're getting the best bang for their buck."
In the end, Hraychuck said, she trusts Department of Corrections Secretary Rich Raemisch, former Dane County sheriff, made the right decision. Given the budget cuts across state government, Hraychuck said, "I can't imagine that the secretary of the Department of Corrections would OK any kind of treatments or surgery that isn't absolutely necessary."
The cost of this surgery is undetermined due to complications during surgery and the severity of the injury, according to University of Wisconsin Hospital spokeswoman Lisa Brunette.
"Complicated reconstructions for severe injuries in particular very often present unexpected developments all along the way," Brunette said. "I don't think we can responsibly provide even a ballpark estimate at this stage of the process."
But regardless of the cost to repair the hole in Stremke's face, the hole in the Verby family can never be replaced. A 15 year old girl has been permanently mentally disfigured by the actions of a murder on that early summer night seven years ago. No amount of money can remedy that.
According to the victim's father Larry, Stremke had set up a campground for them near Comstock, WI, near Staples Lake the night before the murder. On the night of the murder, June 30, 2002, Stremke had came to see Sam, yelling for her to come out. According to her father, this is what happened next.
"She said if you want to talk to me, you can come in here and talk to me. He walked inside the trailer, down the hallway and 10 feet away... shot her in the head. He then shot himself right there."
Larry ran from the Verby's Staples Lake Bar to the scene of the murder. He said this about his granddaughter's trauma from witnessing her mother's murder. "It took quite a long time for her to go to sleep by herself," Verby said. "She was afraid someone else was going to shoot through her room."
Later this month, Stremke will have the first in a series of surgeries to correct his speaking and eating problems. These surgeries will be funded by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections - and therefore, the Wisconsin taxpayer. Including the victim's parents.
This is what Larry has to say about the surgery.
"He has to live with what he did. There's no fixing it now...But when the perpetrator does it himself to himself with the idea that he went there on a death wish in the first place, he did it to himself. And being that he murdered my daughter, I have no sympathy for him."
Alice Verby, the victim's mother echoed her husband's feelings. "Taxpayers feel their money should go to better things than rebuilding his face. He did it to himself. Let him live that way."
Strenke's mother is defending the decision, saying Strenke, 45, is "tortured" by his injuries. He is serving a 60-year sentence, including 30 years behind bars.
Without surgery, Darlene Strenke said, her son would continue to struggle to speak and eat. She said his speech is nearly impossible to understand, and his food must be pureed.
"He doesn't have any teeth. He doesn't have a roof in his mouth, and he's only got part of a nose," she said. "It doesn't matter who they are, what crimes they've committed, (prisoners) still deserve the (medical) care," she said. "They're still a human being."
The Wisconsin Department Of Corrections provides surgeries to prisoners on a "medically necessary" basis. This is because of their mandate to avoid cruel and unusual punishment as stated in the 8th Amendment.
According to WDOC spokesman John Dipko, "Our actions as a correctional health care provider are consistent with this constitutional directive, including instances in which an individual is identified by an outside medical specialist as in need of reconstructive surgery to protect the individual's life and health."
State Rep. Ann Hraychuck, D-Balsam Lake, who was the sheriff of Polk County in 2002 and helped prosecute Strenke, said she sees both sides. Taxpayers don't want their hard-earned money wasted, but the state must care for people in its custody, she said.
"I do understand that institutions are responsible for providing necessary medical treatment," Hraychuck said, noting that as sheriff, she ran the Polk County Jail. "Now my job is to protect taxpayers ... and make sure they're getting the best bang for their buck."
In the end, Hraychuck said, she trusts Department of Corrections Secretary Rich Raemisch, former Dane County sheriff, made the right decision. Given the budget cuts across state government, Hraychuck said, "I can't imagine that the secretary of the Department of Corrections would OK any kind of treatments or surgery that isn't absolutely necessary."
The cost of this surgery is undetermined due to complications during surgery and the severity of the injury, according to University of Wisconsin Hospital spokeswoman Lisa Brunette.
"Complicated reconstructions for severe injuries in particular very often present unexpected developments all along the way," Brunette said. "I don't think we can responsibly provide even a ballpark estimate at this stage of the process."
But regardless of the cost to repair the hole in Stremke's face, the hole in the Verby family can never be replaced. A 15 year old girl has been permanently mentally disfigured by the actions of a murder on that early summer night seven years ago. No amount of money can remedy that.
Clause prohibiting defense contractors from arbitration in criminal cases is step towards justice for rape victim
A woman victimized while serving as a Iraq contractor testified before Congress last week, stating that arbitration in her rape case involving overseas contractors denies rape and other crime victims justice.
Jamie Lee Jones, then 19, was drugged and raped by seven other contractors and two KBR guards on her fourth day on the job as a Halliburton employee. Because her employment contract said that all disputes must come through binding arbitration instead of through courts, Jones is still waiting for her day in court.
"I didn't even know that I had signed such a clause, but even if I had known, I would never have guessed that it would prevent me from bringing my claims to court after being brutally sexually harassed and assaulted. I had no idea that the clause was part of the contract, what the clause actually meant, or that I would eventually end up in this horrible situation."
That day may come soon, since Senator Al Franken (D-MN), sponsored an amendment which passed Wednesday, October 7, 68 to 30 prohibiting "the Defense Department from contracting with companies that require employees to resolve sexual assault allegations and other claims through arbitration."
According to Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, as many as 30 million employees are under such contracts, which disallow trials by jury in civil - or criminal cases.
An arbitration act passed by Congress, Leahy said, was meant to "provide sophisticated businesses an alternative venue to resolve their disputes" but instead has "become a hammer for corporations to use against their employees."
"There is no rule of law in arbitration," Leahy said. "There are no juries or independent judges in the arbitrations industry. There is no appellate review. There is no transparency. And…[for] Jamie Leigh Jones there is no justice."
JOnes said that "If women before me. if they were able to go before a judge and jury, that would have been public record, and I would have known before I went to Iraq what I was getting into."
Mark de Bernardo, the executive director of the Council for Employment Law Equity defended the use of arbitration as "decisively in the employees' best interests," and as an inexpensive alternative to jury trials.
"[Alternative Dispute Resolution] is an effective tool for both management and employees," de Bernardo said. "The opponents of arbitration have simply not demonstrated that the drastic, sweeping changes they seek to enact are necessary and/or appropriate. To the contrary, for the average employee, the elimination of arbitration will do more harm than good."
Franken clashed with De Bernardo repeatedly, stating that "This took place in Iraq, at that time she had no recourse, sir! She has not had her day in court, she has litigated for four years to have her day in court. She was drugged, she was raped, and she had to have reconstructive surgery. If that's a better workplace, what was the workplace like before?"
This clause will become law when and if the larger defense spending bill is passed by Congress.
Jamie Lee Jones, then 19, was drugged and raped by seven other contractors and two KBR guards on her fourth day on the job as a Halliburton employee. Because her employment contract said that all disputes must come through binding arbitration instead of through courts, Jones is still waiting for her day in court.
"I didn't even know that I had signed such a clause, but even if I had known, I would never have guessed that it would prevent me from bringing my claims to court after being brutally sexually harassed and assaulted. I had no idea that the clause was part of the contract, what the clause actually meant, or that I would eventually end up in this horrible situation."
That day may come soon, since Senator Al Franken (D-MN), sponsored an amendment which passed Wednesday, October 7, 68 to 30 prohibiting "the Defense Department from contracting with companies that require employees to resolve sexual assault allegations and other claims through arbitration."
According to Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, as many as 30 million employees are under such contracts, which disallow trials by jury in civil - or criminal cases.
An arbitration act passed by Congress, Leahy said, was meant to "provide sophisticated businesses an alternative venue to resolve their disputes" but instead has "become a hammer for corporations to use against their employees."
"There is no rule of law in arbitration," Leahy said. "There are no juries or independent judges in the arbitrations industry. There is no appellate review. There is no transparency. And…[for] Jamie Leigh Jones there is no justice."
JOnes said that "If women before me. if they were able to go before a judge and jury, that would have been public record, and I would have known before I went to Iraq what I was getting into."
Mark de Bernardo, the executive director of the Council for Employment Law Equity defended the use of arbitration as "decisively in the employees' best interests," and as an inexpensive alternative to jury trials.
"[Alternative Dispute Resolution] is an effective tool for both management and employees," de Bernardo said. "The opponents of arbitration have simply not demonstrated that the drastic, sweeping changes they seek to enact are necessary and/or appropriate. To the contrary, for the average employee, the elimination of arbitration will do more harm than good."
Franken clashed with De Bernardo repeatedly, stating that "This took place in Iraq, at that time she had no recourse, sir! She has not had her day in court, she has litigated for four years to have her day in court. She was drugged, she was raped, and she had to have reconstructive surgery. If that's a better workplace, what was the workplace like before?"
This clause will become law when and if the larger defense spending bill is passed by Congress.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Killer of young mother sentenced to 20 years - currently serving life for rape-slaying of another woman
In the space of two hours yesterday, a Dubuque, IA man went from being charged with to being sentenced for the murder of a Rockford, IL mother of three. Gregory Otterbeck, 54, was charged with the murder of Thomasina Dunivant back in December 1980. The prostitute, 23, was last seen alive outside a bar in East Dubuque, IL on December 7, 1980. Her strangled, beaten body was found on the side of a road in Grant County, WI. The case went cold until 2007, when Wisconsin Department Of Justice matched Otterbeck's DNA to samples taken from the victim's vagina.
Grant County Circuit Judge Robert P. VanDeHey said after accepting Otterbeck's no contest plea that the defendant was one of the most dangerous defendants in his courtroom. "It was a violent murder ... her death shouldn't be minimized just because it took 28 years," he said.
The victim's daughter Margaret, four when her mother was killed, said "He's the type of scum no one should feel sorry for."
Otterbeck is currently serving life for being party to the rape and murder of Jodi Bausman. She was gang raped before being killed at a cabin Otterbeck's friend owned back in April 1981.
The complaint said it was "plausible" Otterbeck killed Dunivant at the same cabin because Dunivant's purse was found 500 yards from the building, it was a short drive from the bar where Dunivant was last seen and bedding from the cabin was missing after Dunivant was killed but before Bausman's death.
The complaint also says a woman told investigators that Otterbeck's sister told her he had wandered into his sister's restaurant at 4:30 a.m., looking half-drunk, and told his sister he had killed a woman. He said they were going to have sex, but she decided not to and began to scream. He covered her mouth until she stopped breathing and he dumped the body in a ditch.
Otterbeck's sister, however, told investigators she didn't remember any such conversation.
Oliveto told the judge she explained to Otterbeck that the complaint was laced with circumstantial evidence, hearsay and evidence of other criminal acts, which might not be allowed at a trial in Dunivant's death, and another conviction would erase any chance at parole.
"He understands all these things," Oliveto told the judge. "Mr. Otterbeck wants to proceed in this manner."
Mr. Otterbeck wants Ms. Dunivant to be at peace," Oliveto said.
In accordance with the plea deal, Assistant Attorney General Dave Wambach asked Judge VanDeHey to order Otterbeck to pay for Dunivant's headstone, a request the judge denied. Wambach recommended the perpetrator for transfer from Oshkosh Correctional Institution to WIsconsin's Supermax in Boscobel, the Secure Program Facility in Boscobel. While judges can make a recommendation on placement, only Wisconsin Department of Correction officials can actually transfer inmates.
Grant County Circuit Judge Robert P. VanDeHey said after accepting Otterbeck's no contest plea that the defendant was one of the most dangerous defendants in his courtroom. "It was a violent murder ... her death shouldn't be minimized just because it took 28 years," he said.
The victim's daughter Margaret, four when her mother was killed, said "He's the type of scum no one should feel sorry for."
Otterbeck is currently serving life for being party to the rape and murder of Jodi Bausman. She was gang raped before being killed at a cabin Otterbeck's friend owned back in April 1981.
The complaint said it was "plausible" Otterbeck killed Dunivant at the same cabin because Dunivant's purse was found 500 yards from the building, it was a short drive from the bar where Dunivant was last seen and bedding from the cabin was missing after Dunivant was killed but before Bausman's death.
The complaint also says a woman told investigators that Otterbeck's sister told her he had wandered into his sister's restaurant at 4:30 a.m., looking half-drunk, and told his sister he had killed a woman. He said they were going to have sex, but she decided not to and began to scream. He covered her mouth until she stopped breathing and he dumped the body in a ditch.
Otterbeck's sister, however, told investigators she didn't remember any such conversation.
Oliveto told the judge she explained to Otterbeck that the complaint was laced with circumstantial evidence, hearsay and evidence of other criminal acts, which might not be allowed at a trial in Dunivant's death, and another conviction would erase any chance at parole.
"He understands all these things," Oliveto told the judge. "Mr. Otterbeck wants to proceed in this manner."
Mr. Otterbeck wants Ms. Dunivant to be at peace," Oliveto said.
In accordance with the plea deal, Assistant Attorney General Dave Wambach asked Judge VanDeHey to order Otterbeck to pay for Dunivant's headstone, a request the judge denied. Wambach recommended the perpetrator for transfer from Oshkosh Correctional Institution to WIsconsin's Supermax in Boscobel, the Secure Program Facility in Boscobel. While judges can make a recommendation on placement, only Wisconsin Department of Correction officials can actually transfer inmates.
Canadian triathlete ordered to serve house arrest for beating of now ex-wife
By Darah Hansen, VANCOUVER SUN 10-08-09
A jail sentence would be “counterproductive” for a Salmon Arm man and renowned Canadian triathlete who bound and savagely beat his wife repeatedly with a five-pound dumbbell while she begged him for mercy, a provincial court judge has ruled.
Instead, David Reid Dawson was ordered to serve a one-year conditional sentence — including six months of house arrest — followed by two years of probation for his part in the November 2007 aggravated assault on Judith Dawson.
Dawson, 55, who pleaded guilty to the charge, was sentenced in June in Salmon Arm by Judge Edmond De Walle.
The couple had been married 15 years when Dawson, the former captain of the Canadian Triathlon Team, viciously attacked his wife, seemingly out of the blue.
According to the victim, she was punched in the face several times and struck in the face with a barbell.
At one point, she lost consciousness after Dawson began choking her and, when she came to, found that her hands had been tied behind her back.
Despite repeated pleadings to stop the assault, Judith Dawson said her husband continued the violence, first putting a pillow over her face, then picking her up and carrying her to the kitchen where he once again tried to choke her to a point where, she told the court, she feared for her life.
“I begged and begged him to stop hurting me,” Judith Dawson wrote in a victim-impact statement submitted prior to sentencing.
The assault ended when the victim managed to free her hands and escape to a neighbour’s house.
Police arrived to find a bloodied and bruised Judith Dawson laying on a couch.
In her statement to the court, Judith Dawson said she suffered a broken nose and that both eyes were blackened in the assault. Her head, meanwhile, “was split open from the hits from the dumbbell and required stitches, as did my nose and lip. My jaw was very sore and bruised and with my swollen lips, I could only take in liquids for five days.
“Six weeks later, my face was still bruised and disfigured and I suffered a lot of pain and discomfort physically,” she said.
The court learned that David Dawson was suffering from mental illness at the time of the attack, diagnosed by one doctor as agitated depression and narcissistic personality disorder and by another as a “mixed personality disorder characterized by an excessive preoccupation with detail.”
However, Dawson was ordered fit to stand trial.
Since the assault, Dawson has taken responsibility for the assault, expressing “profound remorse, which seems sincere,” according to a psychiatrist who interviewed him earlier this year.
“He appears to be committed to maintaining his current recovery,” the psychiatrist further noted.
In pronouncing sentence in the matter, Judge De Walle said Dawson’s continued success would be better served by imposing a lengthy order of supervision, rather than jail time.
Dawson was ordered to spend the first six months at his home, with permission to leave only to attend work, church, medical and court appointments, and to go to the gym. He must also abstain from alcohol and drugs and have no contact with the victim.
The couple has since divorced.
dahansen@vancouversun.com
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
A jail sentence would be “counterproductive” for a Salmon Arm man and renowned Canadian triathlete who bound and savagely beat his wife repeatedly with a five-pound dumbbell while she begged him for mercy, a provincial court judge has ruled.
Instead, David Reid Dawson was ordered to serve a one-year conditional sentence — including six months of house arrest — followed by two years of probation for his part in the November 2007 aggravated assault on Judith Dawson.
Dawson, 55, who pleaded guilty to the charge, was sentenced in June in Salmon Arm by Judge Edmond De Walle.
The couple had been married 15 years when Dawson, the former captain of the Canadian Triathlon Team, viciously attacked his wife, seemingly out of the blue.
According to the victim, she was punched in the face several times and struck in the face with a barbell.
At one point, she lost consciousness after Dawson began choking her and, when she came to, found that her hands had been tied behind her back.
Despite repeated pleadings to stop the assault, Judith Dawson said her husband continued the violence, first putting a pillow over her face, then picking her up and carrying her to the kitchen where he once again tried to choke her to a point where, she told the court, she feared for her life.
“I begged and begged him to stop hurting me,” Judith Dawson wrote in a victim-impact statement submitted prior to sentencing.
The assault ended when the victim managed to free her hands and escape to a neighbour’s house.
Police arrived to find a bloodied and bruised Judith Dawson laying on a couch.
In her statement to the court, Judith Dawson said she suffered a broken nose and that both eyes were blackened in the assault. Her head, meanwhile, “was split open from the hits from the dumbbell and required stitches, as did my nose and lip. My jaw was very sore and bruised and with my swollen lips, I could only take in liquids for five days.
“Six weeks later, my face was still bruised and disfigured and I suffered a lot of pain and discomfort physically,” she said.
The court learned that David Dawson was suffering from mental illness at the time of the attack, diagnosed by one doctor as agitated depression and narcissistic personality disorder and by another as a “mixed personality disorder characterized by an excessive preoccupation with detail.”
However, Dawson was ordered fit to stand trial.
Since the assault, Dawson has taken responsibility for the assault, expressing “profound remorse, which seems sincere,” according to a psychiatrist who interviewed him earlier this year.
“He appears to be committed to maintaining his current recovery,” the psychiatrist further noted.
In pronouncing sentence in the matter, Judge De Walle said Dawson’s continued success would be better served by imposing a lengthy order of supervision, rather than jail time.
Dawson was ordered to spend the first six months at his home, with permission to leave only to attend work, church, medical and court appointments, and to go to the gym. He must also abstain from alcohol and drugs and have no contact with the victim.
The couple has since divorced.
dahansen@vancouversun.com
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Murderers of expectant mother sentenced to life with parole possibility
Updated: Fri Oct. 09 2009 18:49:16 ctvwinnipeg.ca
A Winnipeg courtroom heard chilling details of the murder of 24-year-old Roxanne Fernando who was pregnant at the time she was killed.
On Thursday, Nathanael Plourde, 21, and Jose Toruno, 21, both pleaded guilty for their roles in the killing of Fernando in February 2007. [The] court heard details of how Fernando was still breathing when she was dumped in a snowy ditch after being beaten twice.
Court was told that Fernando and Plourde had a brief relationship. She wanted it to continue, but he didn't. Plourde drove her to Little Mountain Park on a Valentine's date and later beat her with a wrench several times. Her feet were bound with tape and she was thrown in the trunk of the car.
Plourde later picked up his friend Toruno and the two drove to an isolated spot in Winnipeg's northwest corner where she was beaten again and thrown in a ditch.
Both men expressed remorse at the hearing but the judge said they deserved every minute of their sentences.
Friday morning, a judge gave Plourde a life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years after he pleaded guilty to first degree murder. Toruno was also given a life sentence with no chance of parole for 15 years after he pleaded guilty to second degree murder.
A victim impact statement from Fernando's mother said there was no word to describe the loss or pain of losing her daughter.
A Winnipeg courtroom heard chilling details of the murder of 24-year-old Roxanne Fernando who was pregnant at the time she was killed.
On Thursday, Nathanael Plourde, 21, and Jose Toruno, 21, both pleaded guilty for their roles in the killing of Fernando in February 2007. [The] court heard details of how Fernando was still breathing when she was dumped in a snowy ditch after being beaten twice.
Court was told that Fernando and Plourde had a brief relationship. She wanted it to continue, but he didn't. Plourde drove her to Little Mountain Park on a Valentine's date and later beat her with a wrench several times. Her feet were bound with tape and she was thrown in the trunk of the car.
Plourde later picked up his friend Toruno and the two drove to an isolated spot in Winnipeg's northwest corner where she was beaten again and thrown in a ditch.
Both men expressed remorse at the hearing but the judge said they deserved every minute of their sentences.
Friday morning, a judge gave Plourde a life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years after he pleaded guilty to first degree murder. Toruno was also given a life sentence with no chance of parole for 15 years after he pleaded guilty to second degree murder.
A victim impact statement from Fernando's mother said there was no word to describe the loss or pain of losing her daughter.
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