Latest news with #firstdegreeMurder
CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
‘I hope you remember her face': Mother addresses man who killed daughter in random Calgary stabbing
Michael Adenyi was found guilty of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Vanessa Ladouceur. (Court exhibit photo) It was a highly emotional day in court for the mother of Vanessa Ladouceur, who addressed Michael Adenyi, the man who stabbed her daughter to death in a random attack in Calgary's Beltline three years ago. A jury found Adenyi, 29, guilty of first-degree murder last month in the death of Ladouceur, 30, on March 18, 2022. He was captured on surveillance video around 6:30 a.m. following the woman for roughly two blocks while she walked to work at a fitness facility along 10th Avenue S.E. before tackling her into an alcove. She was stabbed eight times in 11 seconds with a large kitchen knife, with many blows to her head and neck. 'The fact you, Michael, just butchered her there and left her to die on the street like some animal is incomprehensible,' Erika Ladouceur said during sentencing submissions Thursday. 'I hope you remember her beautiful face every time you see the scars on your hand or look in the mirror and never get the chance to hurt someone else again.' She described the traumatic experience of identifying her daughter's body in the hospital after the attack. 'I remember just standing there not understanding why her beautiful blonde hair was red,' she recalled through sobs. 'The pain I feel every day since then is immeasurable.' Ladouceur was born and lived in Toronto but moved to Calgary with her mother and sister when she was around two years old. Her mother said her daughter had just moved into an apartment months before her death, loved the mountains and would paint portraits and landscapes. She said she was spiritual and passionate about poetry and politics. 'She was a deeply sensitive loving and giving person,' she said. 'She understood the importance of giving back and being humble.' Ladouceur's mother told the court her daughter also felt strongly about helping the homeless and improving animal welfare, recalling that she memorized Martin Luther King's famous 'I Had a Dream' speech. 'She wanted to make a difference in this world and was just fearless,' she said. ''Who am I without her? I will never see her walk down the aisle or hold my grandchild.' Adenyi sat listening in the prisoner's box and had no signs of emotion. 'All the dreams that I had as a mother for my child, destroyed in 12 seconds,' she said. 'Losing her is so profound it is impossible to put in words.' 'She was an innocent victim': Judge addresses Adenyi A conviction for first-degree murder in Canada carries a mandatory life sentence with no possibility of parole for 25 years. Justice Jane Sidnell also imposed a lifetime firearms ban, describing the crime against a stranger as 'heinous.' 'She was going to work and you took her life. You destroyed her life and it's obvious to me that you have also destroyed the life of those who knew it,' she told Adenyi. 'She was an innocent victim.' Adenyi's defence claimed he was in the midst of a psychotic episode and was not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder. He told the court during the trial he was hallucinating and believed he was attacking animalistic and demonic creatures and told the jury he would take hour-long showers to drown out voices in his head. In May, a jury deliberated for 12 hours before rejecting the not criminally responsible plea and convicting him of first-degree murder. The defence said Adenyi showed all the hallmarks of schizophrenia and had been prescribed antipsychotic drugs, however, Crown prosecutors argued he lied to police and mental health professionals to avoid facing consequences for the killing. Throughout the five-week trial, the jury was shown disturbing and bizarre evidence, including two red notebooks found in a backpack Adenyi was seen on surveillance footage dumping in an alley garbage bin. The books included writings like 'Death Note,' 'Three people to kill,' and 'Beat three times, rape, torture.' Adenyi's internet search history also revealed searches for 'How strong is a human skull?' and 'How much blood loss can a person handle?' A small group of Adenyi's family was in court for the sentencing Thursday but declined to comment.
CBC
09-06-2025
- CBC
Woman charged with 1st-degree murder in 2021 death of her husband in Nanaimo, B.C.
A B.C. woman has been charged with first-degree murder four years after the death of her husband, say RCMP. Ryan Mosher, 30, was found dead in his Nanaimo, B.C., home on Aug. 12, 2021. Police had gone to check on him after they'd been alerted by Kelowna RCMP that he may be at risk. Mosher and his wife, Desiree, had recently moved from Kelowna to Nanaimo. Desiree Mosher has been charged with killing him. RCMP said Monday that the B.C. Prosecution Service approved a charge of first-degree murder against Desiree Mosher and members of the Nanaimo RCMP Serious Crime Unit arrested her Friday. She remains in custody until a bail hearing, which is set for June 16. Speaking to CBC News, Nanaimo RCMP Const. Sherri Wade said Desiree Mosher was a person of interest following her husband's death, but police needed to follow all avenues of investigation before they could recommend charges. She said that included searching residences and speaking to friends and family members. "Trying to get a full comprehensive picture of the person that died, any of the parties that might be involved," said Wade. She said neither Desiree nor Ryan Mosher were known to Nanaimo RCMP before the death. The Criminal Code of Canada describes first-degree murder as "planned and deliberate."
CTV News
05-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Man found guilty of murdering Halifax optician in December 2021
Police say Cymon Felix Cormier entered the business and attacked a staff member, identified by police as 55-year-old Tony Nader. A man has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of a Halifax optician in December 2021. Justice Christa Brothers delivered the verdict Thursday morning, telling the court she found the fatal stabbing of 55-year-old Tony Nader to be planned and deliberate. She did not accept the defence's argument that the accused, Cymon Felix Cormier, was not criminally responsible. Nader was stabbed while at his workplace, Insight Optometry, on Brunswick Street the morning of Dec. 30, 2021. Another man was inside the business and tried to intervene. He too was attacked and sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Nader later died in hospital from his stab wounds. Cormier was arrested a short time later and charged with first-degree murder in Nader's death. He was also charged with aggravated assault for injuring the man who intervened. Cormier was found guilty Thursday of the lesser charge of assault causing bodily harm for attacking that man. More to come… For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
CTV News
22-05-2025
- CTV News
Pair who killed OPP officer appeal their first-degree murder convictions
Randall McKenzie and Brandi Stewart-Sperry found guilty of first-degree murder in 2022 shooting of Const. Greg Pierzchala. CTV's Krista Simpson reports.
The Guardian
14-05-2025
- The Guardian
Menendez brothers resentenced giving them potential path for release
A California judge has shortened Erik and Lyle Menendez's sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole to 50 years to life. They're now eligible for parole under California's youthful offender law because they committed the crime under the age of 26 and served 35 years behind bars. The brothers were found guilty of first-degree murder in the killings of their parents in 1989
