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Winnipeg Free Press
8 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Beaten, bound woman left to die in frozen dumpster confronts ‘monster' in Winnipeg courtroom
Her limbs bound with zip ties and tape, her body stuffed into a duffel bag, the petite Indigenous woman was tossed into a large metal garbage dumpster on a cold Winnipeg winter night and left to die. The now-28-year-old woman survived her terrifying ordeal, but 18 months later, still grappling with the trauma that now consumes her life, she wishes she hadn't. 'I wish you had killed me so I don't have to keep living like this anymore, so I can put the pain away,' she told her attacker, Joey Audy, at a sentencing hearing Thursday. Court heard the woman, who was described as vulnerable, lives with pre-existing mental-health and cognitive challenges. She now fears being out in public and can no longer trust men, particularly if they are Indigenous. 'A man shouldn't put hands on our women,' she said. 'Real men don't hit women…. Clearly you are not a real man, at all. You have left me fighting for my life every single day since you brutally beat me and attempted (to) murder me. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES The dumpsters behind a Manitoba Housing building at 24 Carlton Street, where a 27-year-old woman was assaulted and forcibly confined before being abandoned in a dumpster, while still restrained, in 2023. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES The dumpsters behind a Manitoba Housing building at 24 Carlton Street, where a 27-year-old woman was assaulted and forcibly confined before being abandoned in a dumpster, while still restrained, in 2023. 'I look at my face and see the scars on my bottom lip where you kicked me in the face…. How could you do this to an innocent person? You are a f—king monster and you will always be one to me.' Audy, 36, has pleaded guilty to attempted murder for the unprovoked attack in December 2023. Audy, who has a long and violent criminal record, is the last of five people charged in the incident to be dealt with by the court. Prosecutors are recommending he be sentenced to 18 years in prison, saying his victim narrowly escaped being added to a growing list of Indigenous women in Manitoba who are murdered and discarded like garbage. 'Lest there be any doubt… this has been a life-altering experience,' Crown attorney Courtney St. Croix told provincial court Judge Rachel Rusen. 'She put on a brave face today, but it should not be lost on the court that she wishes he had killed her, that she is fighting for her life every single day because her trauma and emotional pain is unbearable.' 'I look at my face and see the scars on my bottom lip where you kicked me in the face…. How could you do this to an innocent person? You are a f—king monster and you will always be one to me.'–Victim's statement Details were laid out in an agreed statement of facts read out in court. The then-26-year-old victim was waiting for a bus at Sargent Avenue and Maryland Street at about 3:30 p.m. when a man she didn't know approached her and said, 'You're coming with me,' before pulling her onto a departing bus. He took the victim to a Manitoba Housing complex at 24 Carlton St. and led her to a suite where he said he would give her alcohol and she could use the Wi-Fi. In attendance were apartment residents Lorde Barrios and Misty Bird, as well as Audy, Romeo Miles and Evelyn Mckay. Audy and Miles were members of the same gang and had appeared uninvited, armed with a crowbar and knife for the purpose of 'recruiting' Barrios. The woman used the washroom after she entered the suite, during which time the man who took her there left. When she reappeared, Audy asked her who had taken her there and she mistakenly identified Barrios. 'When Barrios denied knowing the victim, Audy accused the victim of being a 'narc' or a 'rat,'' St. Croix told court. Audy told McKay to search the victim for 'wires' and then had the woman place her backpack and jacket in the middle of the room before he punched her in the face, knocking her to to the floor. At Audy's instruction, McKay and Bird bound the victim with duct tape before Audy shoved her under a bed. Audy and Miles left the suite, telling Barros they would return later to 'collect' the victim. 'Barrios, Bird and McKay argued over whether to untie the victim but decided to keep her tied up because Audy was going to return and they were fearful of him,' St. Croix said. McKay left the apartment shortly before 7 p.m. Around 8, when Audy had not yet returned, Barrios and Bird untied the victim and took her with them to play VLTs. Barrios gave her $5 to play the machines. Barrios, Bird and the victim returned to the apartment at 8:40 p.m. Barrios and Bird started using methamphetamine. Audy returned a short time later with another man. 'The victim remained quiet for a short period of time and then started screaming and banging on the dumpster … She was trying to untie herself and panicking as she thought she was going to die.'–Crown attorney Courtney St. Croix 'Over the next three hours, the group was socializing, drinking and doing drugs together,' St. Croix said. 'Audy commented that he was going to toss the victim in the dumpster and light her up' and threatened to 'hang her by a hanger.' McKay returned to the suite shortly after midnight, and Audy told her to tie up the victim again. McKay 'hog-tied' her with zip ties. Duct tape was placed over her mouth. Audy stomped on the woman's head and she was blindfolded before Audy and McKay forced her into a hockey bag and zipped it up. Audy and McKay took the woman to an elevator, as Audy played music on a portable speaker to 'mute (the victim's) screams.' Once outside, they dragged the bag to a dumpster and Audy threw it inside and closed the lid. 'The victim remained quiet for a short period of time and then started screaming and banging on the dumpster,' St. Croix said. 'She was trying to untie herself and panicking as she thought she was going to die.' About a half-hour later, Barrios went outside and heard the woman screaming. He opened the dumpster lid and told the woman he would be right back. He returned an hour later with Bird and the two took her out of the bag and removed her restraints. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES The Manitoba Housing building at 24 Carlton Street, where a 27-year-old woman was assaulted and forcibly confined before being abandoned in a dumpster, while still restrained, in 2023. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES The Manitoba Housing building at 24 Carlton Street, where a 27-year-old woman was assaulted and forcibly confined before being abandoned in a dumpster, while still restrained, in 2023. She was taken back to the suite, where she was provided a shower, clothing and food. The next morning, Bird helped her board a bus for the Health Sciences Centre, where staff contacted police. Audy's criminal record includes convictions for theft, weapon offences and crimes of violence, frequently targeting women. He 'has shown a clear propensity for violence, often in a manner that is unprovoked and targeted at victims who are vulnerable,' St. Croix said. 'His actions are those of someone who has made a choice to live a violent and criminal lifestyle.' Defence lawyer Mike Cook urged Rusen to impose an eight-year sentence, arguing a life of poverty, addictions and family dysfunction set Audy — who was born to a drug-addicted mother who years later died of an overdose — on a violent path. 'He was born suffering drug withdrawal,' Cook said. 'I can't conceive of a more difficult start in life.' Weekday Mornings A quick glance at the news for the upcoming day. He was seized by child-welfare authorities when he was five days old and spent all of his teen years in abusive foster homes before being left to fend for himself at 19 with no supports or friends, Cook said, adding Audy spent years on the street. Cook said it is suspected Audy lives with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Drug and alcohol addictions have been an issue since he was a teen. 'He's had one of the worst upbringings I've ever seen… I don't think I've (represented) a more tragic figure,' he told Rusen. Audy also pleaded guilty to an unrelated charge of robbery, for which both the Crown and defence agreed he should be sentenced to an additional two years in prison. Rusen will sentence Audy at a later date. Dean PritchardCourts reporter Dean Pritchard is courts reporter for the Free Press. He has covered the justice system since 1999, working for the Brandon Sun and Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 2019. Read more about Dean. Every piece of reporting Dean produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Boston Globe
06-05-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
As Mass. considers generational ban on nicotine sales, what's been Brookline's experience?
'This way, you're getting everyone on the same level playing field,' he said. Massachusetts, which has long been at the forefront of tobacco restrictions nationally, is debating a statewide generational ban on tobacco sales, which could have potentially dramatic implications for both public health and businesses. Since the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court dismissed the tobacco sellers' lawsuit in March 2024, who are around 19 or younger today — from buying such products in the state. Related : Advertisement Though experts say it's too early to gauge the public health impact of the policy in Brookline, champions of the bylaw say they believe if such a ban takes effect statewide, it could prevent future generations from suffering tobacco-related cancers and nicotine addiction. And retailers like Audy in municipalities with generational bans say statewide adoption is more equitable. Advertisement 'From a purely public health standpoint, there's no safe use of tobacco and nicotine products,' said Sigalle Reiss, Brookline's public health director, adding: 'We're creating a generation that won't have to say, 'I wish I never started.'' Critics say such bans are bad for businesses and send young people seeking tobacco across state lines or into an underground, unregulated market where no one checks IDs. And while a statewide ban might level the playing field for many businesses, retailers along state borders could lose customers. The statewide bill's sponsor, state Senator Jason Lewis, said store owners always 'tell us that the sky is falling and that they can't survive' when restrictions on nicotine sales are considered, but the businesses have since remained afloat. If the bill passes, the population businesses can legally sell nicotine products to will decline gradually as people age, 'so there will be plenty of time for retailers to be able to adjust to this new law should it pass,' said Lewis, a Winchester Democrat. The number of tobacco sellers in Brookline has decreased to 16 from 18 since the ban passed in 2020, but both retailers who returned tobacco permits — one being A Green Line train passes through Coolidge Corner in Brookline in 2023. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff In Brookline, customers get frustrated with the restrictions 'almost on a daily basis,' Audy said, adding that he nearly called the police on a customer in his 20s who became agitated when denied the chance to buy cigarettes. Advertisement Aaron Mehta, owner of Wine Press in Brookline and Fenway, said he was initially open to Brookline's measure but now has 'mixed feelings' because of logistical challenges. 'Five years from now, you're going to be ID-ing people that are 30, that can buy alcohol, that can't buy cigarettes, and it's going to create a very confusing dynamic' for staff and customers, he said. It's too soon to discern the bylaw's public health impacts despite five years having passed, said Katharine B. Silbaugh, a Boston University law professor who cosponsored the Brookline bylaw. She said she expected to see gradual results, as no products were ripped off the shelves, and everyone who could legally purchase tobacco when it was enacted will remain able to do so throughout their lifetimes. 'It's a feature, not a bug, of the regulatory design,' Silbaugh said. Still, there are signs that Brookline's ban may have made a difference. Three percent of Brookline High School students reported using tobacco products in the past month in 2023, a Phasing out the ability for friends or older siblings to purchase tobacco for teenagers eliminates a main source of these products, said Matt DuBois, senior director of clinical services and social and emotional learning at the Public Schools of Brookline. Proponents of the generational sales bans also point to the success of other recent restrictions cutting youth usage rates. Advertisement When on the change. The statewide ban on stores selling flavored tobacco products To Peter Brennan, executive director of the New England Convenience Store & Energy Marketers Association, which represents tobacco retailers, the flavor ban tells a different story. Brennan 'People are going to come to fill that void, and there's going to be profit to be had,' Brennan said. 'And these products will be more widely available, just not in our stores, where we actually check IDs and make sure that kids aren't buying them.' Three percent of Brookline High School students reported using tobacco products in the past month in 2023, a survey showed, down from 5 percent in 2015 and 10 percent in 2013. Lane Turner/Globe Staff Lewis said these concerns are common arguments in opposition to Massachusetts policies that differ from those of its neighbors. While 'none of these policies are perfect,' he said, data show that other statewide tobacco restrictions have helped reduce tobacco use. About 10 percent of adults Advertisement Ginger O., a 19-year-old Boston resident who spoke on condition of not fully identifying herself to avoid career repercussions, said she vapes nicotine daily. She said she purchases at a local retailer who does not ask her for identification and still sells flavored products despite the ban. If Massachusetts adopts the generational ban, she wouldn't be impacted personally because she was born before the cutoff. While it might be a successful deterrent, she said, those who want to access the products would still find a way. 'I don't think it's a bad idea, I just don't know how well it will work,' she said, adding: 'It's not hard to get certain products or certain prices here, if you really want to.' Meanwhile, Reiss, Brookline's health chief, said enforcement of the generational ban has gone relatively smoothly. When the town sent underage shoppers undercover to 18 stores in 2022, four shops sold tobacco products to the buyers. Brookline fined them each $300. The next two times the town did that, there were zero underage sales, Reiss said. 'In order to have successful policies, we need to engage with the regulated community,' she said. 'There's probably mixed feelings about the policy out there, but making sure that they understand it before we go out and start enforcing ... that's a key strategy for me.' Stella Tannenbaum can be reached at
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists Found the Largest Underground Thermal Lake at the Bottom of a Subterranean Abyss
Researchers discovered the largest underground thermal lake in the world at the bottom of an 'abyss.' The lake holds more than three Olympic swimming pool's worth of water. Future explorations hope to map and 3D-model the record-breaking find, as well as investigate any life that may have established itself in the environment. There's nothing more luxurious than mother nature's jacuzzi: hot springs. Hot springs are one of many ways geothermal features present on Earth's surface—heat from the planet's core warms the water and, in active volcanic zones, springs may even produce waters superheated to dangerously high temperatures. And scientists may have just found the biggest one yet… well, sort of. A team of scientists from the Czech Republic has discovered the world's largest underground thermal lake, located in southern Albania. They first stumbled upon the lake (and the elaborate cave system it's a part of) in 2021, but didn't have the proper equipment to properly study it, according to a press release. What they did have, however, was a promising visual. By following a column of steam down into the limestone, the team was able to locate 'an abyss over 100 meters deep,' according to Marek Audy, the head of the expedition. They named the cave Atmos. Pushing further into the cave, the team discovered something even more exciting—a 'strong thermal inflow and a vast lake' sitting at the bottom of the massive chasm. 'In order for Czech science to present this phenomenal discovery, however,' Audy said, 'it is necessary to conduct scientific research and precise measurements.' Upon securing funding from a company known as the Neuron Foundation, which aims to 'raise the profile of Czech science, develop modern philanthropy, and connect science and business'—the researchers were eventually able to return to the cave. Once there, they concluded that the lake—now called Lake Neuron after their benefactors—measured in at a whopping 345 meter circumference. Scientists calculate that the lake holds about 8,335 cubic meters of thermal mineral water. For comparison, an Olympic-size swimming pool holds 2,500 cubic meters. 'This success demonstrates how crucial it is to support scientists directly in the field, where they can bring completely new knowledge thanks to their knowledge and commitment,' Monika Řasa Vondráková, director and co-founder of the Neuron Foundation, said in the press release. 'Expeditions like this are crucial for the development of science and deepening our understanding of the world around us.' The Neuron Foundation also sponsored an expedition responsible for finding a 'lost Mayan city' in Guatemala in 2023, according to a press release. Researchers named the city Yax Balam (which translates to 'Jaguar' in English), and field work suggests that it thrived primarily in the Middle and Late Preclassic period, from 850 B.C. to 150 A.D. As for the future of this thermal lake, the team intends to study it further in the upcoming year. The hope is to bring back a full map of the finding, including a 3D map of the entire crevasse and samples of any flora and fauna that may have taken root. The lake is an exciting find, but the real exploration is just beginning. You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
World's biggest underground thermal lake discovered in Albania at bottom of 330-foot abyss
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Scientists have discovered the world's largest underground thermal lake in a cave in southern Albania, the results of a new expedition confirm. Researchers from the Czech Republic first found the lake four years ago, but they did not have the right instruments to measure it at the time, according to a translated statement from the Neuron Foundation — an organization that promotes research by Czech scientists. Now, the team has announced it returned to the lake in 2024 with state-of-the-art 3D scanners, confirming that the hidden water body is the biggest of its kind known to science. The scientists named the lake "Neuron" after the foundation, which funded the recent expedition. The lake measures 454 feet (138 meters) long and 138 feet (42 m) wide. "In order for Czech science to present this phenomenal discovery, it was necessary to conduct scientific research and precise measurements," Marek Audy, a cave explorer who led both expeditions, said in the statement. Related: Scientists discover enormous reservoir hidden in Cascades — more than twice the amount of water in Lake Mead Audy and his colleagues first discovered the hidden chamber while exploring the border region between Albania and Greece, which has been subject to political tensions for over a century and therefore been off limits for some research. While exploring the region around the town of Leskovik in Albania, the team spotted a huge column of steam wafting from a mountain range and, upon closer inspection, saw it was rising from an abyss more than 330 feet (100 m) deep, Audy said. The researchers descended into the pit and found an extensive system of caves, including some with thermal springs and one containing a vast lake, Audy said. "During our initial exploration, we created a basic map using our equipment and immediately realized that we had discovered something extraordinary," photographer and expedition member Richard Bouda told Euronews. Last year, with funding from the Neuron Foundation, the researchers returned to the site with a lidar scanner — a remote-sensing instrument that uses a laser to measure distances and create 3D models — to map the lake in detail. The results indicate that the lake holds 294,350 cubic feet (8,335 cubic meters) of water, equivalent to about 3.5 Olympic swimming pools. RELATED STORIES —Scientists peered into a secret Antarctic lake hidden beneath the ice — and uncovered a never-before-seen ecosystem —'Worrisome and even frightening': Ancient ecosystem of Lake Baikal at risk of regime change from warming —Catastrophic tipping point in Greenland reached as crystal blue lakes turn brown, belch out carbon dioxide Audy told National Geographic CZ they hope to return to Lake Neuron to study it further. "It's something that could have a huge impact on understanding underground ecosystems and geological processes," he said. "We want to look at other parts of the cave, learn more about the geology and biology of this area." Researchers previously found a similar, albeit smaller underground thermal lake in Hungary, Reuters reported in 2008. That lake and its chamber, discovered beneath Turkish baths in the capital city of Bucharest, were "the biggest active, water-filled thermal water cave and hall in the world" at the time they were found, cave explorer Sandor Kalinovits, one of the lake's discoverers, reportedly said.
