Latest news with #Crown
The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
Trio guilty again over 'torturous' toolbox murders
For hours, three men played video games and drank whiskey as Cory Breton and Iuliana Triscaru lay bound in a toolbox nearby. The pair had been beaten, stabbed and choked before they were stuffed into the two metre-long container. They were likely "screaming for their lives" when the toolbox was later dumped in a lagoon south of Brisbane in January 2016. Almost 10 years later, Stou Daniels, Davy Malu Junior Taiao and Trent Michael Thrupp were found guilty of the pair's murder for a second time. They faced a retrial in Brisbane after the Court of Appeal set aside murder convictions in July 2024. Mr Breton, 28, and Ms Triscaru, 31, had been lured to a residential unit at Kingston, south of Brisbane, before being attacked by a group of men. "It was torturous. They were assaulted when they arrived and throughout the day ... while bound with cable ties and duct tape," Crown prosecutor Nathan Crane told the weeks-long trial that concluded with Friday's verdicts. They were attacked, interrogated and threatened over a drug dealing dispute. When Ngatokoona Mareiti arrived at the unit to buy drugs, Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru were sitting bound on the couch. Sent away to buy whiskey, by the time Mareiti returned she could not see the pair and assumed they were in the toolbox at the unit. They drank and played video games as the bound pair were held captive in the container nearby. "We drank the alcohol … they had a PlayStation there," Mareiti told the jury. Cloths and bleach used to clean bloodstains in the unit were thrown into the toolbox before it was taken away with Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru still inside. The terrified pair made so much noise as the container was being moved, music from an awaiting ute was turned up in a bid to conceal it. "The transition of the toolbox to a HiLux utility vehicle attracted attention from those present at the unit complex - there was noise emanating from the toolbox," Mr Crane said. "There was music used from the HiLux to cover up the sound." Thrupp either threw the toolbox weighed down by concrete into nearby Scrubby Creek or was present when it happened, Mr Crane said. Daniels and Taiao were also liable for murder by forcing the victims into the toolbox hours before their deaths, he said. Police divers found the bodies locked in the toolbox submerged in the creek two weeks later. "Most likely the two ... were alive and screaming for their lives when they were placed in the creek," Justice Peter Davis said in 2020 when sentencing Tuhirangi-Thomas Tahiata, who drove the ute to the creek. "It is haunting to imagine the moment that the toolbox slipped under the water, plunging the night into silence." Daniels, Taiao and Thrupp each pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder at their retrial. The jury on Friday returned its verdict after deliberating since 10.45am Wednesday. The trio will be sentenced on Thursday. Overall seven men and a woman were charged over what became known as the "toolbox murders". Tahiata received a life sentence for murder, unsuccessfully appealing the conviction in April 2024. Mareiti, Webbstar Latu, Tepuna Tupuna Mariri and Waylon Ngaketo Cowan Walker were found guilty of manslaughter. However, Walker had his convictions overturned in July 2024. For hours, three men played video games and drank whiskey as Cory Breton and Iuliana Triscaru lay bound in a toolbox nearby. The pair had been beaten, stabbed and choked before they were stuffed into the two metre-long container. They were likely "screaming for their lives" when the toolbox was later dumped in a lagoon south of Brisbane in January 2016. Almost 10 years later, Stou Daniels, Davy Malu Junior Taiao and Trent Michael Thrupp were found guilty of the pair's murder for a second time. They faced a retrial in Brisbane after the Court of Appeal set aside murder convictions in July 2024. Mr Breton, 28, and Ms Triscaru, 31, had been lured to a residential unit at Kingston, south of Brisbane, before being attacked by a group of men. "It was torturous. They were assaulted when they arrived and throughout the day ... while bound with cable ties and duct tape," Crown prosecutor Nathan Crane told the weeks-long trial that concluded with Friday's verdicts. They were attacked, interrogated and threatened over a drug dealing dispute. When Ngatokoona Mareiti arrived at the unit to buy drugs, Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru were sitting bound on the couch. Sent away to buy whiskey, by the time Mareiti returned she could not see the pair and assumed they were in the toolbox at the unit. They drank and played video games as the bound pair were held captive in the container nearby. "We drank the alcohol … they had a PlayStation there," Mareiti told the jury. Cloths and bleach used to clean bloodstains in the unit were thrown into the toolbox before it was taken away with Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru still inside. The terrified pair made so much noise as the container was being moved, music from an awaiting ute was turned up in a bid to conceal it. "The transition of the toolbox to a HiLux utility vehicle attracted attention from those present at the unit complex - there was noise emanating from the toolbox," Mr Crane said. "There was music used from the HiLux to cover up the sound." Thrupp either threw the toolbox weighed down by concrete into nearby Scrubby Creek or was present when it happened, Mr Crane said. Daniels and Taiao were also liable for murder by forcing the victims into the toolbox hours before their deaths, he said. Police divers found the bodies locked in the toolbox submerged in the creek two weeks later. "Most likely the two ... were alive and screaming for their lives when they were placed in the creek," Justice Peter Davis said in 2020 when sentencing Tuhirangi-Thomas Tahiata, who drove the ute to the creek. "It is haunting to imagine the moment that the toolbox slipped under the water, plunging the night into silence." Daniels, Taiao and Thrupp each pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder at their retrial. The jury on Friday returned its verdict after deliberating since 10.45am Wednesday. The trio will be sentenced on Thursday. Overall seven men and a woman were charged over what became known as the "toolbox murders". Tahiata received a life sentence for murder, unsuccessfully appealing the conviction in April 2024. Mareiti, Webbstar Latu, Tepuna Tupuna Mariri and Waylon Ngaketo Cowan Walker were found guilty of manslaughter. However, Walker had his convictions overturned in July 2024. For hours, three men played video games and drank whiskey as Cory Breton and Iuliana Triscaru lay bound in a toolbox nearby. The pair had been beaten, stabbed and choked before they were stuffed into the two metre-long container. They were likely "screaming for their lives" when the toolbox was later dumped in a lagoon south of Brisbane in January 2016. Almost 10 years later, Stou Daniels, Davy Malu Junior Taiao and Trent Michael Thrupp were found guilty of the pair's murder for a second time. They faced a retrial in Brisbane after the Court of Appeal set aside murder convictions in July 2024. Mr Breton, 28, and Ms Triscaru, 31, had been lured to a residential unit at Kingston, south of Brisbane, before being attacked by a group of men. "It was torturous. They were assaulted when they arrived and throughout the day ... while bound with cable ties and duct tape," Crown prosecutor Nathan Crane told the weeks-long trial that concluded with Friday's verdicts. They were attacked, interrogated and threatened over a drug dealing dispute. When Ngatokoona Mareiti arrived at the unit to buy drugs, Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru were sitting bound on the couch. Sent away to buy whiskey, by the time Mareiti returned she could not see the pair and assumed they were in the toolbox at the unit. They drank and played video games as the bound pair were held captive in the container nearby. "We drank the alcohol … they had a PlayStation there," Mareiti told the jury. Cloths and bleach used to clean bloodstains in the unit were thrown into the toolbox before it was taken away with Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru still inside. The terrified pair made so much noise as the container was being moved, music from an awaiting ute was turned up in a bid to conceal it. "The transition of the toolbox to a HiLux utility vehicle attracted attention from those present at the unit complex - there was noise emanating from the toolbox," Mr Crane said. "There was music used from the HiLux to cover up the sound." Thrupp either threw the toolbox weighed down by concrete into nearby Scrubby Creek or was present when it happened, Mr Crane said. Daniels and Taiao were also liable for murder by forcing the victims into the toolbox hours before their deaths, he said. Police divers found the bodies locked in the toolbox submerged in the creek two weeks later. "Most likely the two ... were alive and screaming for their lives when they were placed in the creek," Justice Peter Davis said in 2020 when sentencing Tuhirangi-Thomas Tahiata, who drove the ute to the creek. "It is haunting to imagine the moment that the toolbox slipped under the water, plunging the night into silence." Daniels, Taiao and Thrupp each pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder at their retrial. The jury on Friday returned its verdict after deliberating since 10.45am Wednesday. The trio will be sentenced on Thursday. Overall seven men and a woman were charged over what became known as the "toolbox murders". Tahiata received a life sentence for murder, unsuccessfully appealing the conviction in April 2024. Mareiti, Webbstar Latu, Tepuna Tupuna Mariri and Waylon Ngaketo Cowan Walker were found guilty of manslaughter. However, Walker had his convictions overturned in July 2024. For hours, three men played video games and drank whiskey as Cory Breton and Iuliana Triscaru lay bound in a toolbox nearby. The pair had been beaten, stabbed and choked before they were stuffed into the two metre-long container. They were likely "screaming for their lives" when the toolbox was later dumped in a lagoon south of Brisbane in January 2016. Almost 10 years later, Stou Daniels, Davy Malu Junior Taiao and Trent Michael Thrupp were found guilty of the pair's murder for a second time. They faced a retrial in Brisbane after the Court of Appeal set aside murder convictions in July 2024. Mr Breton, 28, and Ms Triscaru, 31, had been lured to a residential unit at Kingston, south of Brisbane, before being attacked by a group of men. "It was torturous. They were assaulted when they arrived and throughout the day ... while bound with cable ties and duct tape," Crown prosecutor Nathan Crane told the weeks-long trial that concluded with Friday's verdicts. They were attacked, interrogated and threatened over a drug dealing dispute. When Ngatokoona Mareiti arrived at the unit to buy drugs, Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru were sitting bound on the couch. Sent away to buy whiskey, by the time Mareiti returned she could not see the pair and assumed they were in the toolbox at the unit. They drank and played video games as the bound pair were held captive in the container nearby. "We drank the alcohol … they had a PlayStation there," Mareiti told the jury. Cloths and bleach used to clean bloodstains in the unit were thrown into the toolbox before it was taken away with Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru still inside. The terrified pair made so much noise as the container was being moved, music from an awaiting ute was turned up in a bid to conceal it. "The transition of the toolbox to a HiLux utility vehicle attracted attention from those present at the unit complex - there was noise emanating from the toolbox," Mr Crane said. "There was music used from the HiLux to cover up the sound." Thrupp either threw the toolbox weighed down by concrete into nearby Scrubby Creek or was present when it happened, Mr Crane said. Daniels and Taiao were also liable for murder by forcing the victims into the toolbox hours before their deaths, he said. Police divers found the bodies locked in the toolbox submerged in the creek two weeks later. "Most likely the two ... were alive and screaming for their lives when they were placed in the creek," Justice Peter Davis said in 2020 when sentencing Tuhirangi-Thomas Tahiata, who drove the ute to the creek. "It is haunting to imagine the moment that the toolbox slipped under the water, plunging the night into silence." Daniels, Taiao and Thrupp each pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder at their retrial. The jury on Friday returned its verdict after deliberating since 10.45am Wednesday. The trio will be sentenced on Thursday. Overall seven men and a woman were charged over what became known as the "toolbox murders". Tahiata received a life sentence for murder, unsuccessfully appealing the conviction in April 2024. Mareiti, Webbstar Latu, Tepuna Tupuna Mariri and Waylon Ngaketo Cowan Walker were found guilty of manslaughter. However, Walker had his convictions overturned in July 2024.
Global News
2 hours ago
- Global News
‘He killed a king': Halifax man's sister speaks out after months-long silence
The sister of a Halifax man who was fatally shot in 2016 is speaking out after months of keeping quiet. Adam Drake, 34, was found guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of Tyler Keizer last October. But up until this week, Keizer's family couldn't discuss that guilty verdict because of a publication ban. 'Quite frankly, I haven't been able to breathe since I lost my brother,' said Keizer's sister, Kristin Kravis. 'I just want … everybody to know that my brother was a really great person. He really was. I just want people to remember the good in him, his smile, how he loved his family. It's all important.' The publication ban was in effect due to the fact Drake was on trial for another murder: the 2022 killing of rapper Pat Stay. The ban was in place to ensure a fair trial for Drake in the Stay case. Story continues below advertisement Once the jury in the Stay case was sequestered, the ban was lifted. In under 24 hours, the jury in that case found him guilty of second-degree murder in Stay's death on Wednesday. 2:01 Adam Drake found guilty of 2nd-degree murder in rapper Pat Stay's death Keizer, 22, was shot while sitting in his vehicle at the corner of Gottingen and Falkland streets in November 2016. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Drake was charged in 2019 for that crime, but the charge was withdrawn by the Crown in October 2021 — just days before the trial was set to begin. Stay was killed a year later in September 2022. 'To stand back and know that perhaps if we would've kept him behind bars, you know, nobody else would've been affected but my family,' said Kravis. Prosecutors reinstated the charge for Keizer's murder in October 2022, after Drake was charged in Stay's death. Story continues below advertisement Kravis says she came out to support Stay's family during their trial — describing it as an 'out of body experience' watching them go through the same process and with the same accused as her family did months before. She lit a candle while overlooking the Eastern Passage shore a day before Drake's guilty verdict on Wednesday, in memory of the two victims. Kravis says her brother had turned his life around just before his death, and it's an important fact she holds on to. 'I always remember that my brother died a healed person. He made mistakes. He did. Big ones. People make mistakes. And he paid for his mistakes,' she said. 'He didn't kill a monster, he killed a king in my eyes.' Kravis says she'll never feel completely safe, even after Drake was handed two separate life sentences. 'I'll always have to look over my shoulder. It's just the way after you live with trauma.' 3:03 Tyler Keizer identified as victim of Monday night's fatal shooting
Ottawa Citizen
3 hours ago
- General
- Ottawa Citizen
Meness: Tewin development signals a return for Algonquin people
There is a troubling tendency in this city to speak of reconciliation as a principle to be applauded, but not lived. Too often, Indigenous ambition is mistaken for overreach, and Indigenous vision dismissed as inconvenience. The Tewin project — slated for land southeast of the urban core — has been drawn into this recurring pattern, and it's time to break the cycle. Article content Article content Let's be clear: Tewin is not a conventional development. It is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the Algonquin people to reclaim space, purpose and visibility in a capital that was built on our unceded territory — territory that includes the traditional lands of Grand Chief Pierre Louis Constant Pinesi. Article content Article content A respected leader in the early 19th century, Chief Pinesi allied with the British during the War of 1812, leading Algonquin warriors more than 500 kilometres to help defend what is now Canada. His family's traditional hunting grounds spanned what we now call Ottawa: roughly 1,800 sq. km. bordered by the Ottawa and Rideau Rivers and extending south to Kemptville. These were not just lands; they were lifeways, relationships, ecosystems and stories. Article content Before roads and farms, this was a living landscape: forested, biodiverse and travelled by birchbark canoe in summer and by snowshoe in winter. But waves of settlers soon transformed these lands, cutting forests, killing off game, building towns. Despite his loyalty and repeated petitions to the Crown, Chief Pinesi never saw recognition of Algonquin land rights. No treaty was signed. The land was taken: settled without consent, logged without compensation, governed without representation. Article content Article content Tewin is a response to that legacy. It is rooted in Algonquin values, designed around sustainability, and is a true partnership where Indigenous people have a seat at the table. It is not urban sprawl; it is a deliberate, planned community grounded in the internationally recognized One Planet Living framework. It will be compact, connected and climate-conscious, built with environmental sensitivity and long-term infrastructure planning. Article content Still, some residents and City of Ottawa councillors continue to cast doubt on the project's legitimacy, or on the Algonquins of Ontario (AOO) themselves, many of whom are direct descendants of Grand Chief Pinesi. That is not a policy critique; it is a microaggression. It echoes the long, tired refrain that not only must we justify ourselves, but now we must justify our presence in our own lands.
CBC
3 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
Ontario lawsuit underscores Indigenous anger over being left out of resource decisions
Saugeen Ojibway Nation is taking Ontario to court, arguing decades of unpaid salt royalties and a pattern of exclusion from key decisions about stone and sand quarries in its territory reflect a broader problem: resource development that leaves Indigenous nations left out of the conversation. The First Nation spoke to CBC News on Wednesday, the first time it has spoken publicly about the issue since filing its lawsuit in Ontario Superior Court last July. The suit accuses the Ontario government of reaping decades of royalties from the world's largest salt mine in Goderich, Ont., while at the same time sidestepping the First Nation in the opening and operation of an some 500 sand and gravel quarries within their 1.5 million-acre traditional territory. Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON) is asking the court for $167.6 million in damages related to back payment of salt royalties, the alleged breach of the Crown's treaty obligations and a failure to offer meaningful consultation, according to the latest court filings. The case highlights renewed Indigenous outrage as Parliament Hill and the Ontario Legislature push to fast-track development through Bill C-5 and Ontario's Bill 5 — both of which have been slammed for weakening environmental protections and expanding Crown powers at the expense of Indigenous rights. Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources said it would not comment, as the matter is before the courts. Quarries fuelled Ontario's building boom The new legislation will only deepen what has long been a sore point in the relationship between SON and the Crown, according to Chief Greg Nadjiwon of the Chippewas of the Nawash Unceded First Nation — a community that, along with the Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation, makes up SON. A chunk of salt from the Goderich mine, which falls within the traditional territory of Saugeen Ojibway Nation. (CBC) "We don't receive any kind of fair payment for the extraction of resources in our homeland," he said. The lawsuit claims that, between 2004 and 2017, the Crown allowed hundreds of stone and sand quarries to open on SON's sprawling traditional territory, which spans from Tobermory in the north to Goderich in the south to Alliston in the west. Court documents suggest the quarries supply the province with some 300,000,000 tonnes of aggregate each year. Aggregate is a vital raw ingredient in countless construction and infrastructure projects across Ontario — from the expansion of major highways such as the 401, to crossings, such as the Gordie Howe International Bridge, to the slew of skyscrapers that have sprouted like weeds as part of a recent vertical land rush in Ontario's major cities. This map of shows the First Nation's traditional territory in southwestern Ontario. (Saugeen Ojibway Nation) As quarries have helped fuel an urban building boom, the Saugeen claim those operations have also had a damaging impact on their environment and culture — destroying wildlife habitats, threatening archaeological sites, disturbing ancestral resting places and razing forests that provide their people with traditional medicines. "The landscape is changing on a daily basis," Nadjiwon said. First Nations argue that both the federal and Ontario bills erode their constitutional right to be m,eaningfully consulted on projects in their traditional territories. Tensions have escalated and not just in courtrooms. Ontario Premier Doug Ford elicited fury this week while defending Bill 5 when he said he was willing to give First Nations what they want in exchange for their support on mining projects, but added they "can't keep coming hat in hand all the time to the government" for more money. The remark drew immediate backlash, with Indigenous leaders condemning it as racist. Amid mounting pressure, Ford apologized Thursday. "I get pretty passionate and I just want to say I sincerely apologize for my words, not only [did it] hurt all the chiefs in that room, but all First Nations." Also on Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney defended Bill C-5, calling it "enabling legislation." He promised that Indigenous people would not only be consulted, they would be able to help define what he called "a nation-building project." "That is how you build a nation. That's very much how we've designed it," he said. "That's how we'll be moving forward." Except Indigenous leaders don't necessarily see it that way. Randall Kahgee, an Indigenous rights lawyer, band councillor and former chief of Saugeen First Nation says both pieces of legislation, which both give governments the option of sidestepping the consultation processes, are akin to stacking the deck in the government's favour. "This is the frustrating part. You seem to have some momentum and then someone changes the rules of the game or they shift the goal post." Kahgee says the legislation adds insult to injury, especially as Indigenous people often struggle to overcome a perception they are unwilling to do business, when it reality their communities are only evaluating ways to mitigate risk to their way of life. "Anything less than that is taking."
Time of India
10 hours ago
- Time of India
Hockey Canada trial judge faces complex decision as case hinges on unseen question of consent
Justice Maria Carroccia is set to deliver her verdict in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial (Getty Images) As the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial concludes, Justice Maria Carroccia is now faced with a complex and high-stakes task: determining whether the complainant in a 2018 hotel room encounter truly consented to the sexual acts that took place. The case, which involves five former members of Canada's 2018 World Junior hockey team, doesn't hinge on whether sex occurred—it clearly did—but whether it was consensual. Hockey Canada trial judge faces brutal test on consent and power What makes the trial especially complex is that consent is an invisible state of mind. The judge must interpret it through indirect evidence—words, actions, and most critically, the context in which they occurred. The defence has argued that the woman's account began with an 'understandable white lie' to her mother that spiraled into a false accusation. They claim she actively participated in the encounters, had the opportunity to leave, and later sought financial compensation. The Crown, however, tells a very different story: one where the woman appeared to go along with the situation out of fear and powerlessness, not willingness. One focal point is a video recorded during the encounter in which a player asks, 'You're okay with this, though, right?' and the woman replies, 'I'm okay with this.' While the defence sees this as proof of consent, the Crown challenges the video's meaning: What does 'this' refer to? Why use the word 'though'? Why make the video at all? 'Who makes consent videos when having sex?' the Crown questioned. 'You don't have to try to dig yourself out of a hole you're not in.' This trial isn't just about conflicting testimonies. It's about the deeper question: how do courts recognize power imbalances and the reality that silence or passive agreement doesn't always mean consent? 'Power imbalance is omnipresent in sexual violence,' the Crown argued, suggesting the complainant complied as a form of self-preservation. Also Read: Hockey Canada sexual assault trial: Judge to rule on drunken night that shattered national trust and player accountability With two conflicting narratives and a highly charged social context, the judge's decision won't simply decide guilt or innocence—it could shape how future courts interpret the subtle boundaries of consent in cases where power, fear, and silence collide. Game On Season 1 kicks off with Sakshi Malik's inspiring story. Watch Episode 1 here
