Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 20, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba FEED HOPE EVERY DAY! 431-482-2164 HarvestManitoba.ca By becoming a monthly donor, your recurring donation of just $1 a day will ensure we can meet the unprecedented demand for food in our province. TOP NEWS A3 THURSDAY FEBRUARY 20, 2025 ● ASSOCIATE EDITOR, NEWS: STACEY THIDRICKSON 204-697-7292 ● CITY.DESK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM ‘I can never make sense of what you did,’ victim’s stepdaughter says Man found guilty in machete slaying of acquaintance A JURY has convicted a Winnipeg man of first-degree murder in a case that hinged on the evi- dence of a one-time co-accused granted immunity from prosecution in return for her testimony. Aaron Mousseau Abigosis showed no reaction as jurors found him guilty ear- ly Wednesday afternoon in the August 2020 killing of 56-year-old Bud Paul, a man he had met just days earlier. The mandatory sentence for first-de- gree murder is life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. Abigosis, 43, will be formally sen- tenced at a later date following the completion of a court-ordered Gladue report that will delve into his Indigen- ous background. Paul’s naked, decomposed remains were discovered Aug. 11, 2020, in a stand of willows, off a dead-end road on the northern edge of Roseau River First Nation, the home reserve of Abigosis’s one-time co-accused, Janine Atkinson. Prosecutors alleged Abigosis killed Paul on Aug. 3. Paul was beaten and slashed in the abdomen with what pros- ecutors described as a brush axe. Paul’s burned-out vehicle was found on Queen Street, near Polo Park mall, on Aug. 10. Paul was a man of “honour and deep conviction,” who had proud- ly maintained his sobriety for 20 years before meeting Abigosis and Atkinson, said Paul’s step- daughter Sabrina Clarke. “He was a source of strength and wisdom, even when I didn’t think I needed it,” Clarke said, struggling through tears as she read from a victim impact statement. Clarke looked at Abigosis repeated- ly as she read her statement. Abigosis looked straight ahead toward the jury box, never appearing to make eye con- tact with Clarke. Paul’s murder robbed her of a “life- time of memories and shared joys,” Clarke said. “And for what?” she said. “I can never make sense of what you did … like he had a life of no value.” Atkinson testified she met Paul over Facebook in mid-July 2020 and then in person for the first time roughly two weeks later. “He was looking for companionship,” she told jurors. “We would just drive around, hang out.” On July 31, Atkinson and Abigosis, whom she had met earlier that summer, spent the night with Paul, watching movies at his Hespeler Avenue apart- ment. The next morning, Paul agreed to drive Abigosis and Atkinson to Pine Creek First Nation, where Abigosis wanted to pick up a cheque from his mother, Atkinson told court. Atkinson said they stopped at Long Plain First Nation, near Portage la Prairie, where Abigosis visited a few houses “to get high.” By 4:45 p.m., the trio was in Neepawa, where security cameras captured At- kinson purchasing a bottle of vodka at a liquor store. Security video showed Abigosis behind the wheel and Paul in the backseat when they drove out of the parking lot. Atkinson said she had been using cocaine during the road trip and de- scribed herself at times being “really intoxicated.” Abigosis drove to Dauphin where he “went to a couple of places” and vis- ited his sister before driving on to Pine Creek, Atkinson said. There, Abigosis went to his mother’s house and picked up his cheque, while Paul waited in the car. The trio left Pine Creek, Atkinson testified, and headed toward Dauphin on a dirt road when Abigosis stopped the car and pulled Paul out of the back- seat. Abigosis “started fighting (Paul) … he f—ing football-kicked him in the balls” and punched him in the face, she said. Atkinson said she heard Abigosis tell Paul “something about being a john and picking up chicks.” At Abigosis’s direction, Atkinson took the wheel and the group continued to Dauphin, where they spent two nights at the home of Abigosis’s sister, before driving back to Winnipeg. As they drove past Health Sciences Centre, Atkinson said she urged Abig- osis to stop and drop Paul off. Abigosis refused. “(Police) cruisers were sitting in emergency,” she said. “He didn’t want to stop there: two native people showing up with a badly injured white man.” They made a few more stops, Atkin- son testified, before Abigosis said to her: “Since you went to my rez, let’s go to your rez.” The group continued to Roseau Riv- er when they pulled over and Abigosis forced Paul to snort fentanyl, Atkinson said. Jurors heard an autopsy found evi- dence of cocaine in Paul’s system, but no fentanyl. Atkinson told Abigosis what back roads to take to avoid security on the reserve, which at the time was under pandemic lockdown conditions. They drove down a dead-end road and pulled over. When Abigosis asked her where they should take Paul, she pointed to the bush. It was Abigosis’s intention to “take (Paul) there to murder him,” Atkinson said. “I know what he was trying to do.” She said Paul was unconscious as Abigosis bound him with rope and took him to the bush. She said Abigosis was carrying a machete when he returned to the car. Abigosis changed his clothes, Atkin- son testified, got back behind the wheel and drove back to Winnipeg. Jurors heard Atkinson used Paul’s bank card after he was dead to with- draw more than $1,000 from his ac- count. In a closing address to jurors last week, defence lawyer Tara Walker argued it was Atkinson who killed Paul and that she seized on an opportunity to sign an immunity agreement with pros- ecutors and escape a life sentence. dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca DEAN PRITCHARD Bud Paul No conflict in children’s book by premier: ethics commissioner MANITOBA’S ethics commissioner says Premier Wab Kinew did not vio- late conflict of interest legislation by writing a children’s book that was pub- lished after he became premier. In a report filed Wednesday with the Speaker of the legislature, Ethics Com- missioner Jeffrey Schnoor dismissed a Dec. 3 complaint by Fort Garry MLA Mark Wasyliw, who accused Kinew of contravening the Conflict of Interest (Members and Ministers) Act. Schnoor’s report and investigation are the result of Wasyliw alleging the publication of An Anishinaabe Christ- mas breached the conditions imposed on him by the ethics commissioner, and that it placed him in a conflict of inter- est. The book was one of three submitted to a publisher prior to Kinew’s election win in October 2023 that were awaiting publication, the premier’s office previ- ously stated. In a November 2023 letter to Kinew, the ethics commissioner acknowledged the three books set for publication and directed him not to submit anything further. “At some point in the future, your pub- lisher will publish them and make them available to the public for purchase,” Schnoor wrote. “The decision on when this takes place is the publisher’s; you will play no role in this decision.” The ethics commissioner wrote he was satisfied that Kinew’s work as an author carried out through his com- pany Grey Cloud Media Inc. “will not create a conflict between your private interests and your official powers, dut- ies or functions. I am further satisfied that a reasonable person would not see these activities as creating such a con- flict.” He asked the premier not to engage in any activities to promote the sale of his books, and to ask his publisher to re- frain from identifying him as premier on any books and promotional materi- als. “Premier Kinew advises that he made that request and his publisher has confirmed that,” the commissioner said in his report, noting all the conditions he imposed had been respected by the premier. Wasyliw’s complaint tabled in the legislature in December said the book’s publishers and reviewers identified the author as Manitoba’s premier, and that the only ethical way to prevent a conflict was to prohibit Kinew’s works from being published while he’s pre- mier. Schnoor issued no such prohibi- tion. The premier did not respond to a re- quest for comment. Wasyliw said Wednesday that he has to respect the ethics commissioner’s decision but maintains that a conflict remains if the premier and his pub- lisher can continue to benefit from his position as premier. “Now, for the next two to three years, he can continue to publish this work and other people will be using the fact that he’s a premier to make money off of it,” Wasyliw said. “And he will indirectly make money because of that.” Wasyliw, a criminal defence lawyer, was kicked out of the NDP caucus af- ter the party formed government for having ties to a lawyer defending dis- graced fashion mogul and convicted sex offender Peter Nygard. carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca CAROL SANDERS CALLS for bail reform are mounting in the wake of a fatal collision that killed a Portage la Prairie woman last month, but a legal expert says federal legis- lation is not the best way to deal with repeat offenders. Tory MLA Jeff Bereza, who repre- sents Portage, launched a petition Wed- nesday demanding the NDP govern- ment strengthen warrant enforcement, increase bail supervision and oppose the release of accused persons in the interest of public safety. The document calls on the province to lobby the federal government to re- peal provisions of the Criminal Code that “allow for the continued victimiz- ation of law-abiding Manitobans while granting repeat offenders additional rights.” The petition was prompted by the death of Kellie Verwey, 28, on Jan. 15 in a collision on Highway 26, east of Por- tage. James Lorne Hilton, 24, is accused of being impaired behind the wheel of a stolen pickup truck that veered into oncoming traffic and caused the fatal accident. Police had issued a warrant for Hil- ton’s arrest days earlier because he had repeatedly violated release conditions imposed due to previous offences. “The tragedy of Kellie’s death is that it could have been prevented,” Bereza said in a phone interview. “This could be anybody’s family member here, and we need to take immediate action.” Portage—Lisgar Tory MP Branden Leslie was already collecting signa- tures for a similar call to action at the federal level. He wrote a letter to Jus- tice Minister Arif Virani demanding bail legislation be reformed. Portage Mayor Sharilyn Knox also wrote to Virani, Premier Wab Kinew and provincial Justice Minister Matt Wiebe after the tragedy. Wiebe responded with his own letter to Virani on Feb. 13, speaking on behalf of the province and the Association of Manitoba Municipalities. “We are writing to urge the federal government to enhance its bail reform efforts,” the letter said. “Manitoba has consistently voiced concerns about the impact of repeat and violent offenders on public safety and how this undermines confidence in the justice system.” Wiebe asked the federal government to reassess Bill C-48 and “implement additional legislative amendments as needed.” The Liberals introduced the bill in 2023 as an amendment to the Criminal Act to expand the use of reverse onus for repeat violent offenders. The ac- cused would have to convince a judge why they should get bail versus a pros- ecutor arguing why an accused should be held in custody. Wiebe asked for funds to improve the ability of provincial and territorial gov- ernments to collect and report bail data. Verwey’s family has endorsed the calls for reform. “I’m just happy that there are people in power who are trying to do some- thing. Those are the people who can make change,” said Travis Lundy, who was engaged to marry Verwey in June. “Even if we can save one family from having to go through this, I am happy. Nobody should ever have to go through this.” Lundy said the grief has been over- whelming. “You think you’re OK some days and then the next moment you go to do something and it’s like I can’t function or move. A memory hits, or something that reminds you of Kel, and you’re just crippled,” he said. Brandon Trask, an assistant law pro- fessor at the University of Manitoba, explained that bail enforcement — not bail reform — is likely the most effect- ive way of cracking down on repeat of- fenders. The Criminal Code already priori- tizes the consideration of public safety within its bail conditions. The inter- pretation and implementation of those conditions are established through legal precedent, Trask said. Two Supreme Court decisions (R v. Antic in 2017 and R. v. Zora in 2020) were essentially “a hard reset” for Can- ada’s bail system. The decisions prioritized constitu- tional rights and the presumption of innocence when determining whether an accused person should receive bail. “The majority of people being de- tained were essentially waiting for a trial date or otherwise a resolution of their criminal charges, which is argu- ably not a hallmark of democracy,” Trask said. “Unless the Supreme Court does essentially a 180 from its original ap- proach, there is limited room for the federal government to make changes that would actually survive a constitu- tional challenge.” The government would be required to use the notwithstanding clause to over- rule the charter rights of an accused. Trask warned such a measure has never been taken on the federal level, and could open the door to inadvertent government overreach. “We have some significant issues to address within our criminal justice sys- tem, period,” Trask said. “(But) that’s the parliamentary equivalent to saying, ‘The gloves are off.’” The law professor said governments must bolster bail enforcement strategies, which are within provincial control. Manitoba has taken steps, including increasing municipal law enforcement funding by 28 per cent in the 2024 budget and earmarking roughly $3 mil- lion for an ankle-monitoring program for accused released on bail. In November, the province pledged the program would expand from Winni- peg to 20 rural communities — includ- ing Portage. As of Feb. 15, Manitoba Justice had 63 ankle monitors in use. A provincial spokesperson confirmed the program has “expanded beyond Winnipeg,” but did not give details. In a statement to the Free Press, Wiebe reaffirmed public safety re- mains a “top priority for our govern- ment.” tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca MICHAEL BLUME / PORTAGE ONLINE NEWS FILES The crash that claimed the life of Kellie Verwey (inset, with fiancé Travis Lundy) happened on Highway 26, near Portage la Prairie, Jan. 15. The accused driver, who was allegedly drunk, was out on bail at the time. Man accused of causing crash was out on bail Petition calling for bail reform launched in wake of fatal crash TYLER SEARLE ;