Latest news with #firstDegreeMurder
CBC
4 days ago
- General
- CBC
Couple found guilty of 1st-degree murder in Montreal despite no known cause of death
Social Sharing A jury has found a couple guilty of first-degree murder for the killing of a woman three years ago in Montreal's east end — despite the victim's cause of death never being determined. In May 2022, Odna Daudier was found dead in her car in Rivière-des-Prairies. The Crown argued that Jacques Adonai Charpentier and his new girlfriend, Mélissa Estimé, planned the murder because Charpentier was obsessed with Daudier, his ex. To kill her, the couple used an undetectable poison concocted in Haiti, the Crown said. Tracking her movements with the GPS unit in her car, they attacked Daudier in her driveway and then transported her body to Rivière-des-Prairies where it was later discovered, according to the Crown. But Crown prosecutor Philippe Vallières-Rolland says the cause of death was never established by the coroner. He said there aren't many historical examples of first-degree murder convictions without a known cause of death, making this an unusual, challenging case, he told reporters after the verdict on Monday. But because of surveillance cameras and cellphone data, the Crown was able to prove the couple's guilt, he said. "Without that, I don't think we could have managed," Vallières-Rolland said. First-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence with no possibility of parole for 25 years. Another example of someone being convicted of first-degree murder despite no known cause of death is in the case of Lyne Massicotte, whose body was never found.
Sky News
4 days ago
- General
- Sky News
Colorado live: FBI and other officials giving update on petrol bomb attack
Colorado charges Soliman with eight counts of first-degree murder The state of Colorado has charged Mohamed Soliman with eight counts of first-degree murder, our partner NBC News is reporting. In the state of Colorado, death is not required for there to be a murder charge. Rubio says all terrorists will have visa revoked US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said shared a few comments this evening on the Colorado attack. Here is what he has said on X... FBI and federal officials to hold news conference At around 9.30pm UK time, state and federal officials will hold a news conference to announce state and federal charges against Mohamed Soliman. The Boulder District Attorney's Office and the police department will join the FBI for the joint conference. Here are the people we are expecting to hear from: Acting US attorney J Bishop Grewell for the District of Colorado Special agent in charge Mark Michalek for FBI Denver The 20th judicial district attorney Michael Dougherty Boulder police chief Stephen Redfearn We'll bring you the latest in our live coverage. Colorado suspect 'had 14 unlit Molotov cocktails' Mohamed Soliman told investigators that he looked up videos on how to make Molotov cocktails on YouTube and purchased the items he needed to make them, our partner network NBC News reports. The suspect, who is accused of throwing two Molotov cocktails at a group of people while yelling "Free Palestine!", also told police that he had planned the attack for a year, it is alleged. According to a police report seen by NBC News, a black plastic container with a yellow top was found near where Soliman was arrested. Inside it was at least 14 unlit Molotov cocktails. The report also says that Soliman allegedly told investigators that he "wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead". "Soliman stated that he hated the Zionist group and did this because he hated this group and needed to stop them from taking over 'our land,' which he explained to be Palestine," a police complaint seen by NBC reads. He also stated "he would do it again". Soliman had expired visa Following Soliman's arrest, Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security, said he had entered the US in August 2022 on a B2 visa that expired in February 2023. "The Colorado terrorist attack suspect, Mohamed Soliman, is illegally in our country," she said in a post on X. "He filed for asylum in September 2022." McLaughlin told Sky's partner network NBC News the suspect's asylum claim was pending at the time of the attack. Watch: Moment Colorado suspect is arrested On Sunday, the man accused of using a makeshift flamethrower to attack a US group bringing attention to Israeli hostages in Gaza was charged with a federal hate crime. Mohamed Soliman told police he had planned it for a year and targeted what he described as the "Zionist group", the FBI said. Witnesses reported the man allegedly shouted "Free Palestine" during the attack. The clip below shows the moment Soliman was arrested... Suspect to appear in court later tonight Mohamed Soliman is set to appear in court later tonight. Before that, state and federal officials will hold a news conference at around 9.30pm UK time to announce state and federal charges against him. We'll bring you the latest as we get them. What happened during the Colorado attack? Police chief Steve Redfearn said the attack happened at around 1.26pm on Sunday and that initial reports were that "people were being set on fire". Boulder's police chief said the attack happened as a "group of pro-Israel people" were peacefully demonstrating. The walk is held regularly by a volunteer group called Run For Their Lives, which aims to raise awareness of the hostages who remain in Gaza. An initial review of Mohamed Soliman's possible social media accounts has not answered questions about a motive or pointed to any particular ideology, two senior law enforcement officials said. Video from the scene showed a bare-chested man shouting and clutching two bottles after the attack. Other footage showed him being held down and arrested by police as people doused one of the victims with water. Nearby there appeared to be a large black burn mark on the ground. A large part of downtown Boulder was cordoned off as sniffer dogs and the bomb squad searched for potential devices. Four women and four men aged between 52 and 88 were injured and taken to hospitals, Boulder police said. The force said the injuries ranged from "very serious" to "more minor". Some of the victims were airlifted to hospital. Man charged with hate crime after petrol bomb attack at rally Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, has been charged with a hate crime after people at a US rally in support of Israeli hostages were targeted with petrol bombs and a makeshift flamethrower. Four women and four men aged between 52 and 88, were injured and taken to hospital after being targeted by a man shouting "Free Palestine", officers said. They said the injuries ranged from "very serious" to "more minor" and one of them was in a critical condition. The FBI said it was a targeted "act of terrorism" and named the suspect as 45-year-old Mohamed Soliman from El Paso County, Colorado. Soliman has been charged with the federal crime of causing bodily injury because of actual or perceived race, colour, religion, or national origin. Two senior law enforcement officials told Sky News' US partner network NBC News that Soliman is an Egyptian national who seemingly acted alone. They said he has no previous significant contact with law enforcement. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, said Soliman was in the US "illegally". Donald Trump said on his Truth Social platform that the "horrific" attack in Boulder "will not be tolerated in the United States of America". Welcome to our live coverage Eight people were injured at a US rally for Israeli hostages after they were attacked by a man with a makeshift flamethrower and petrol bombs yesterday. A group of people in Boulder, Colorado, were holding a regular demonstration to raise awareness of Hamas-held hostages in Gaza when they were allegedly targeted by a man who shouted "Free Palestine" on Sunday. The suspect, who police named as 45-year-old Mohamed Soliman, was arrested at the scene. Today, Soliman will appear in court after being charged with a federal hate crime. We'll bring you the latest as we get them.
CTV News
27-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Manitoba man convicted of murdering neighbour gets life in prison
The Manitoba man convicted in the murder of a neighbour he suspected was stealing from him has been handed a life sentence. On Monday, Eric Wildman was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. He was also handed a lifetime weapons and firearm ban along with an order requiring him to submit his DNA. Back in February, a jury found Wildman guilty of first-degree murder in the death of 40-year-old Clifford Joseph. Joseph's remains were found northeast of Winnipeg in 2021. During the trial, crown prosecutors had argued Wildman had caught Joseph stealing from his property before running him over with a vehicle and shooting him. He had pleaded not guilty to the charge, with his lawyers arguing the case was based on circumstantial evidence. Wildman was arrested by Ontario Provincial Police following an RCMP manhunt in June 2021. King's Bench Justice Rick Saull noted Wildman's sentence takes effect from the date of his arrest on June 7, 2021. -With files from The Canadian Press
CTV News
26-05-2025
- CTV News
Saskatoon police arrest second man in connection to city's 3rd homicide of the year
WATCH: Saskatoon police are investigating two homicides over the May long weekend. Saskatoon police have arrested a second suspect in connection to the city's third homicide of the year that occurred on Saturday, May 17. Police say the 26-year-old man suspect was arrested over the weekend and has been charged with first degree murder. The other suspect, a 27-year-old man, was arrested on May 17 and charged with first-degree murder. On that day, at around 5 a.m., police responded to a report of a person suffering from a gunshot wound at a motel on the 2000 block of Avenue B North, Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) said in a news release. Arriving officers located a 20-year-old man who was injured. He was transported to the hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries. The victim has been identified as Matthew Brabant.
Fox News
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Justice Department urged to seek death penalty in Capital Jewish Museum murders
The Justice Department should pursue the death penalty against Elias Rodriguez for the first-degree premeditated executions of Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky on May 21st outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington D.C. This is a sober decision to make, but not a difficult one. It's exactly the kind of case where the death penalty is warranted. Before getting into why the accused richly deserves the ultimate punishment, let me state clearly that Rodriguez is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt. First, according to the Criminal Complaint filed against the accused, he murdered foreign officials and committed first-degree murder. Criminal complaints are placeholders and are the first step in a process that leads to a formal indictment, which is imminent. No doubt, as additional evidence is gathered, more charges will be added, some may be altered, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia (where I used to work as a prosecutor) will seek an indictment of the accused. A grand jury, which meets in secret, only needs to find probable cause to believe that the accused committed the crimes listed in the indictment. That is a forgone conclusion; he will be indicted in the coming days. Second, this isn't a whodunnit. Not only are there eyewitnesses to the crimes, but there is video surveillance. On top of that, once the forensic evidence is tested, the accused's DNA, fingerprints, and other inculpatory evidence tied to the accused will be developed and available for trial. Any one of those pieces of evidence, both direct and circumstantial, could be sufficient to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. But there's more: the accused told the officers at the scene that he "did it," and blurted out "I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, I am unarmed." Third, this wasn't a heat of passion or spontaneous act by the accused. Not only did he fly from Chicago to D.C. with a 9mm handgun (in his checked luggage), he purchased a ticket to the Museum event three hours before it started, walked behind the two victims as they exited, and shot them numerous times. As Sarah tried to crawl away, the accused shot her again. Sarah sat up for a moment. The accused reloaded and fired several shots into her body. Video surveillance captured this horrible scene. Fourth, law enforcement officers recovered 21 expended 9mm cartridges from the scene, a 9mm magazine, and a 9mm handgun with its slide locked, indicating that it had expended all of its ammunition. The handgun was registered to the accused in Illinois, where he purchased the weapon in 2020. The federal death penalty is authorized for several crimes, including first-degree murder. The Trump administration wisely reinstated the use of the federal death penalty for appropriate cases, and Attorney General Pam Bondi issued revised guidance with respect to the process by which federal prosecutors may seek the death penalty. Although there are 93 United States Attorney's Offices spread around the country, if any office wants to seek the death penalty, they must request to do so by submitting their justification memo to the Capital Case Section of Main Justice in Washington D.C. The process requires a pre-indictment review, consultation with the victim's family, and a thorough review by the Capital Review Committee, composed of seasoned prosecutors. Since the death penalty was reinstated by the Supreme Court in 1976, there have been 1,625 executions, most of which took place at the state level. Today, 27 states have the death penalty. There are only three federal death row prisoners awaiting execution as of today (there were 40, but President Biden commuted the sentences of 37 vicious killers just before leaving office). Fifty-five percent of those executed have been white, 34% have been black, and 8% have been Hispanic. Death penalty trials have two phases: the guilt phase and the sentencing phase. If an accused is found guilty of a death-eligible offense by a jury, then the case proceeds to the sentencing phase. In federal death penalty cases, the government must prove that the aggravating factors outweigh the mitigating factors. Aggravating factors for homicide include death during the commission of another crime, a previous conviction of a violent felony involving a firearm, previous conviction of other serious offenses, or a heinous, cruel, or depraved manner of committing an offense. Mitigating factors include impaired capacity, duress, no prior criminal record, and others. Given the fact that the accused hunted down and executed two helpless victims, shot them in the back, shot them when they were on the ground, shot Sarah as she tried to crawl away, reloaded, and shot Sarah again, the government will likely proceed on the theory that the accused's actions were heinous, cruel, and depraved, and argue that those factors far outweigh any mitigating factors. In the 1996 fictional movie "A Time to Kill," set in the deep south, a 10-year-old African American girl named Tonya was abducted, raped, and beaten by two redneck white men, who, after throwing full beer cans at her and unsuccessfully trying to hang her, threw her off a bridge into a river. Tonya survived. The men were arrested. But before they were tried, Tonya's father, Carl Lee Hailey, shot and killed them in the courthouse, fearing that an all-white southern jury would acquit the monsters. Carl Lee went on trial for their murder, and was represented by Jake Brigance, played by Matthew McConaughey. During his closing argument to the jury, Jake asked the jury to close their eyes as he described the brutal rape of Tonya. "This is the story about a little girl walking home from a grocery store one sunny afternoon…suddenly a truck races up, two men jump out and grab her, they drag her into a nearby field, and they tie her up, they rip her clothes from her body, now they climb on, first one then the other, raping her, shattering everything innocent and pure, vicious thrusts, in a fog of drunken breath and sweat. When they are done, after they killed her tiny womb, murdered any chance of her to bear children, to have life beyond her own, they sat and used her for target practice." As he describes the hanging and then how they threw her over the bridge to the creek bottom 30 feet below, he asks the jury, "Can you see her? Her raped, beaten, broken body, soaked in their urine, soaked in their semen, soaked in her blood, left to die. Can you see her? I want you to picture that little girl." After a long pause, he says, "Now imagine she's white." With that in mind, try this thought experiment: imagine Sarah and Yaron were black, and the accused was a white supremacist who shot them coming out of a function at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. After he was apprehended by the police, he said "I did it for the KKK, I did it for the Confederacy." Sarah and Yaron deserve justice. Justice, in this case, is the ultimate punishment.
