'I wish you had killed me,' woman tells attacker in court after being abandoned in Winnipeg dumpster

CBC

3 days ago

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A woman who was brutally beaten, forced into a duffel bag and abandoned in a dumpster on a freezing night in Winnipeg says she still lives with reminders of that attack — from how she can't stand the sound of duct tape being unwrapped, to the scar on her lower lip from being kicked in the face by a man she'd never met before.
"I wish you had killed me so I don't have to keep living like this anymore — so I can put the pain away," the woman read from a victim impact statement in a Winnipeg courtroom Thursday, flanked by supporters as she directly addressed Joey Audy, who pleaded guilty to attempted murder in the December 2023 attack.
"You made my life … unbearable to even keep living for. Since this incident, I have struggled with many things. But I know I'm strong and I can get through this."
Prosecutors said while several people were involved in the attack where the woman was held hostage for hours before being "buried alive and left to die" in the dumpster, it was Audy who was ultimately behind the assault on the vulnerable Indigenous woman, who court heard is only four feet, 11 inches tall and lives with global developmental delay.
"[She] could very well have ended up another missing and murdered Indigenous woman, and that's something that she is acutely aware of," Crown attorney Courtney St. Croix said.
In addition to attempted murder, Audy is charged with robbery in a separate incident. Prosecutors are seeking a total sentence of 20 years on the charges, with St. Croix noting if not for Audy's guilty plea and Gladue factors related to his own life as an Indigenous person, they would likely be recommending a life sentence.
Defence lawyer Mike Cook asked for a total sentence of 10 years, saying Audy's childhood was marked by isolation, abuse and child welfare system involvement. He said Audy has been diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders, and was born in drug withdrawal because of his mother's addictions.
"I cannot conceive of a more difficult start to one's life," Cook said. "Joey Audy deserves to be sent to prison, but not crushed by the length of his prison term."
When given the chance to speak, Audy stood from where he listened in the prisoner's box and said he was sorry.
What happened that night
The events that led to the woman's assault were set in motion around 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 9, 2023. As the then 26-year-old victim was waiting for a bus, she was approached by a man who told her, "You're coming with me," before grabbing and leading her onto a bus, a statement of agreed facts provided to court said.
He took her to an apartment on Carlton Street in downtown Winnipeg, where five people the woman didn't know were inside: Audy, co-accused Romeo Miles and Evelyn McKay, and Lorde Barrios and Misty Bird, who lived in the suite.
Barrios and Bird were initially charged in connection with the assault, but later had their charges stayed.
Both Audy and Miles were members of the Savage Bloods street gang, and had come to the suite to recruit Barrios, the court document said.
When the victim got to the apartment, she went to the washroom — at which point the man she came with was told to leave. When she came back out, Audy asked who brought her there and she mistakenly pointed to Barrios, the document said.
When Barrios denied knowing her, Audy accused the victim of being a "narc" or a "rat" and told McKay to search her for wires. He told the woman to put her jacket and backpack in the middle of the room, then punched her in the face, knocking her to the ground. He continued to punch and kick her until her nose bled.
WATCH | Assault victim 'could no longer defend herself,' Winnipeg police said in December 2023:
Assault victim 'could no longer defend herself': Winnipeg police
1 year ago
Duration 0:43
Sgt. Gary Mathez with the sex crimes unit of the Winnipeg Police Service says the victim of a brutal assault was tied up so she couldn't fight back against her attackers and was later placed in a dumpster.
Audy told McKay and Bird to tie the victim up and cover her mouth with duct tape. She was then put underneath a bed, where the woman said she believes she lost consciousness. Audy and Miles left with the woman's things, including her cellphone, jacket and diabetes medications, and Audy said he'd be back to "collect" the woman.
She was left tied up until around 8 p.m., when Barrios and Bird took her out of the apartment with them, because they wanted to play VLTs. Barrios gave her $5 to play, the document said.
They went back to the suite around 8:40 p.m., and Audy finally returned shortly after. Sometime after midnight, Audy told McKay to tie the victim up again. She was tied up, assaulted and blindfolded, before being zipped into a small hockey bag, which Audy then took downstairs and threw into a dumpster.
It wasn't until almost a full hour later that Bird and Barrios rescued the woman, bringing her back to the suite to shower and giving her food, clothes and her diabetes medication. The next day, Bird helped get the victim on a bus, where she went directly to the Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg with injuries including a broken nose.
McKay previously pleaded guilty to forcible confinement and was sentenced to 39 months, while Miles got 18 months after pleading guilty to robbery.
Another woman, who got zip ties and rope to restrain the victim, was also previously sentenced to a year after pleading guilty to forcible confinement.