The credibility of the Crown’s star witness in a triple murder case is coming under attack. Jeremie Toupin struck an immunity deal to plead guilty to second-degree murder and life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years. In exchange, he’s testifying Jérôme Labossière allegedly hired him and Michel Hince to kill his elderly parents and brother. Labossière and Hince have pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder.
A new, updated women’s correction centre will open in Headingley in the next two weeks. The new structure has about 100 cells and 193 beds, 25 to be set aside for federal inmates. The 120,000-square-foot , $79.5 million, facility will provide more space for programming, like addictions counseling, programs to help develop coping skills, life-skills and other education programming.
The uncle of a four-month-old girl who survived a house fire that killed most of her family says doctors have told the family she is brain dead. The fire broke out Tuesday night in the family’s semi-detached home in West Kildonan. Firefighters pulled out the baby, her mother, grandmother and her nine- and four-year-old sisters, but smoke inhalation had caused too much damage. A trust fund has been set up at all ACU’s for the father, Hamid Farooq, who was at work when the fire broke out. The fund name is #Team204
The City of Winnipeg will set up a grant program to help aging community centres upgrade their facilities. Mayor Sam Katz said the city will offer almost a million dollars for community centre renovations every year. The city has set aside 15 per cent of the proceeds from city land sales for the grants. This funding means community centres won’t have to cut back on programming to repair their facilities.
The brother of a Canadian woman found badly beaten inside a Mexican hotel is defending the woman’s husband, saying he’s concerned that a statement could be misinterpreted. Mexican authorities had issued a statement in Spanish that could be translated to suggest the attack on Sheila Nabb was the result of “domestic violence.” The circumstances around the brutal beating are still unknown, but victims of another attack that stayed at the same hotel have come forward to share their story and warning. In their case, the attack was planned to extort money via a fraudulent private medical clinic.
In the same superpipe where Sarah Burke pioneered her sport, a gathering of the world’s best skiers and snowboarders honored the fallen skier with a torchlight parade. Four gold medals in the superpipe. The first woman to ever spin a 720 in competition. The first 900. The first 1080. Burke died last week in a Utah hospital after tumbling in a halfpipe while training on Jan. 10.
The details on the inmate escape for the Health Sciences Centre Sunday night are Stephane Bissonnette — who was being treated after shooting himself in the leg during a robbery last October — asked the female guards to leave the room so he could change his clothing. Bissonnette — who was not restrained in any way — then tossed a makeshift rope he made from hospital bed sheets out the window and climbed to freedom. He had previously broke out of a Montreal jail in 2007.
After the capsizing of the Costa Concordia near Italy, the company has agreed to pay the cost of the cruise, all transportation and $14,500 for items lost and any psychological damages to each passenger who suffered no physical injuries. Passengers injured while abandoning the ship will be dealt with individually. A consumer group that did not sign the agreement is collecting names to file a class action suit asking for ten times that amount.
