no amount of money is worth murder!
I don't think I would be able to complete a task of this magnitude regardless of how much trouble, money and stress it would relieve. How about you? Willis was hired to carry out this murder to wipe out a drug debt! Seriously, I don't think he was thinking at the time of accepting this offer, as this only took any freedom away from him. When he does emerge from jail he will no longer have a drug problem, but would have completely withdrawn from all drugs through detox.
this kind of thing makes you worry about your own safety!
Horror not forgotten
Witnesses testify about trying to help victim
By Mike McIntyre
KAILA Tran spent her final moments alive surrounded by strangers frantically trying to save her.
Tran, 27, was ambushed in the parking lot of her St. Vital apartment block and stabbed to death in June 2012. Several residents of the same complex witnessed the aftermath and rushed to her side. Four of them took the stand Wednesday at the trial of Treyvonne Willis, 22, who has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.
“I kept telling her to hang on, telling her to listen to my voice; the sirens were coming, help was coming,” an emotional Tracy Hayden told jurors. She works in the medical field and struggled to find a pulse while speaking with 911.
“I couldn’t. There was too much blood around the neck,” said Hayden. She had rushed outside to the parking lot of the Clayton Drive complex after hearing a woman’s screams while watching TV just after 7 a.m.
“It was anguished. Piercing. Horrifying,” she said. Hayden then saw a “black, shaped figure” hunched over the young woman, who was clearly in distress. He fled as she and others yelled for him to stop.
“I said ‘What the (expletive) are you doing, man? Leave her alone,” James Mott testified Wednesday.
He also heard Tran’s screams from inside his apartment and briefly gave chase as the dark-skinned young man took off, briefly glancing in his direction.
“That look, when he looked back at me. I remember to that day,” said Mott.
He tried to chase down the attacker, first on foot and then on his bicycle, but lost him when the man ran towards the Seine River where police would later recover the murder weapon.
Cheylynn Moizer was awakened by the screams. She jumped out of bed, put her glasses on and rushed to the kitchen window to look down into the parking lot below. “I saw a man on top of a woman. He was in the motion of hitting her,” said Moizer. She yelled “What are you doing?” out her window and told her boyfriend to call 911. Then she rushed outside to a horrific scene she will never forget.
“She was unrecognizable. She was brutally bloodied. It wasn’t what I expected,” Moizer said. Moizer and several others surrounded Tran, who was struggling to stay alive.
“When she was breathing, you could hear blood in her throat. We were losing her,” said Moizer. The group began CPR while waiting for paramedics to arrive.
“It took a really long time, like 15 minutes,” she said.
A fourth neighbour, Keri-Lee Smith, broke down in tears Wednesday while describing the scene. She also screamed at the attacker to stop, who responded “Don’t worry about it” before running away.
The Crown alleges Willis — an acquaintance of Tran’s boyfriend — killed Tran after finding himself immersed in the drug trade and deep in debt. At some point in 2012, an offer came along he allegedly couldn’t refuse.
Prosecutors say he made a “devastating and lethal decision” in an attempt to repay the debt.
Willis allegedly laid in wait outside the apartment, then pounced when Tran left the building. Tran was stabbed repeatedly in the head and upper body. Willis was arrested six days later and charged with the most serious offence in the Criminal Code.
While all four witnesses who testified Wednesday said they got a glimpse of the attacker and provided partial descriptions, none of them specifically identified Willis.
A key Crown witness is expected to testify today. The man, who is one of Willis’s friends, was allegedly with him at the time of both the planning and execution. The man is expected to tell jurors about what he knew and “how that drug debt owed was connected to the decision made,” according to the Crown.
Jurors will also review text messages between the two men that were seized by police. The Crown said it provided a “candid look into conversations” both before and after the murder Willis would not have expected to be monitored.
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Powered by TECNAVIACopyright (c)2015 Winnipeg Free Press, Edition 09/04/2015
Witnesses testify about trying to help victim
By Mike McIntyre
KAILA Tran spent her final moments alive surrounded by strangers frantically trying to save her.
Tran, 27, was ambushed in the parking lot of her St. Vital apartment block and stabbed to death in June 2012. Several residents of the same complex witnessed the aftermath and rushed to her side. Four of them took the stand Wednesday at the trial of Treyvonne Willis, 22, who has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.
“I kept telling her to hang on, telling her to listen to my voice; the sirens were coming, help was coming,” an emotional Tracy Hayden told jurors. She works in the medical field and struggled to find a pulse while speaking with 911.
“I couldn’t. There was too much blood around the neck,” said Hayden. She had rushed outside to the parking lot of the Clayton Drive complex after hearing a woman’s screams while watching TV just after 7 a.m.
“It was anguished. Piercing. Horrifying,” she said. Hayden then saw a “black, shaped figure” hunched over the young woman, who was clearly in distress. He fled as she and others yelled for him to stop.
“I said ‘What the (expletive) are you doing, man? Leave her alone,” James Mott testified Wednesday.
He also heard Tran’s screams from inside his apartment and briefly gave chase as the dark-skinned young man took off, briefly glancing in his direction.
“That look, when he looked back at me. I remember to that day,” said Mott.
He tried to chase down the attacker, first on foot and then on his bicycle, but lost him when the man ran towards the Seine River where police would later recover the murder weapon.
Cheylynn Moizer was awakened by the screams. She jumped out of bed, put her glasses on and rushed to the kitchen window to look down into the parking lot below. “I saw a man on top of a woman. He was in the motion of hitting her,” said Moizer. She yelled “What are you doing?” out her window and told her boyfriend to call 911. Then she rushed outside to a horrific scene she will never forget.
“She was unrecognizable. She was brutally bloodied. It wasn’t what I expected,” Moizer said. Moizer and several others surrounded Tran, who was struggling to stay alive.
“When she was breathing, you could hear blood in her throat. We were losing her,” said Moizer. The group began CPR while waiting for paramedics to arrive.
“It took a really long time, like 15 minutes,” she said.
A fourth neighbour, Keri-Lee Smith, broke down in tears Wednesday while describing the scene. She also screamed at the attacker to stop, who responded “Don’t worry about it” before running away.
The Crown alleges Willis — an acquaintance of Tran’s boyfriend — killed Tran after finding himself immersed in the drug trade and deep in debt. At some point in 2012, an offer came along he allegedly couldn’t refuse.
Prosecutors say he made a “devastating and lethal decision” in an attempt to repay the debt.
Willis allegedly laid in wait outside the apartment, then pounced when Tran left the building. Tran was stabbed repeatedly in the head and upper body. Willis was arrested six days later and charged with the most serious offence in the Criminal Code.
While all four witnesses who testified Wednesday said they got a glimpse of the attacker and provided partial descriptions, none of them specifically identified Willis.
A key Crown witness is expected to testify today. The man, who is one of Willis’s friends, was allegedly with him at the time of both the planning and execution. The man is expected to tell jurors about what he knew and “how that drug debt owed was connected to the decision made,” according to the Crown.
Jurors will also review text messages between the two men that were seized by police. The Crown said it provided a “candid look into conversations” both before and after the murder Willis would not have expected to be monitored.
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Powered by TECNAVIACopyright (c)2015 Winnipeg Free Press, Edition 09/04/2015
Kaila Tran was stabbed at least 30 times.
Police officers gather evidence at the site where Kaila Tran was slain in June 2012. The 27-year-old was ambushed near her apartment.
WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES
Police officers gather evidence at the site where Kaila Tran was slain in June 2012. The 27-year-old was ambushed near her apartment.
WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES
the debt is paid but was it worth the consequences
Trial sees video of alleged killer’s interrogation
By Mike McIntyre
WINNIPEG police homicide detectives didn’t try to hide their disgust as they interrogated a man suspected of the coldblooded execution of a young woman outside her home.
Jurors began watching the lengthy videotaped police interview Wednesday of Trevyonne Willis. The 22-year-old has pleaded not guilty to first-degree for the June 2012 killing of Kaila Tran, 27.
“You’ve impacted so many people’s lives. You’re in a deep, deep pile here,” Det.-Sgt. Miles Riddell told Willis. The arrest came six days after Tran was ambushed by a man dressed in black as she left her St. Vital apartment complex and walked to her car. She was stabbed more than 30 times, and frantic efforts by neighbours to save her were unsuccessful.
“When people look at this, a broad-daylight murder, they’re going to say what would possess someone?” said Riddell. He told Willis there really wasn’t a more “crazy” place to commit a homicide than the quiet, friendly neighbourhood where this occurred — especially with so many potential witnesses around.
“You may as well have gone to centre ice at the MTS Centre and done it,” he said.
Willis says little during the first two hours of the video. He is frequently resting his head on the table and even closing his eyes at various points as Riddell and his partner grill him over what happened.
“We know the what. We just need to know the why. You want to be the carefree killer, the guy who went out and killed someone for no reason?” asked Riddell. “You’re not a hired assassin, right?”
“No,” Willis responds quietly.
“This isn’t something that goes away. You gotta face this, one way or another. You gotta live with this the rest of your life,” said Riddell.
At one point, the officers tell Willis they know his mother died of illness when he was just seven years old. They play on that emotion, saying at least his family had the chance to say goodbye to her.
“Kaila’s mom, Kaila’s sister didn’t get the same chance. You took that from them,” said Riddell. The officers tell Willis his mother would be disappointed in what became of him.
Jurors will conclude watching the video on Thursday, at which point the Crown is expected to close its case following two weeks of evidence.
Willis is accused of killing Tran to get out of a massive drug debt. The key witness against him, his former friend Tremaine Sam-Kelly, testified last week how he spent considerable time with Willis in the days before the slaying, then joined him on the morning it happened.
He said he only agreed to provide “emotional support” for his friend and was stunned at the brutality of Willis’s actions.
Sam-Kelly had met Willis a couple of months earlier, and the pair spent time doing drugs together, including in the hours before the fatal ambush. He said Willis was a desperate man willing to do anything to dig himself out of a huge financial hole linked to his drug habit.
He claimed Willis was approached by someone — Sam-Kelly said he doesn’t know who — and given an “out.” Willis explained he knew Tran through her boyfriend, and that Tran was going to be targeted because she was a “snitch” against her boyfriend.
“(Willis) said if we get rid of her, he can give me the money. The boyfriend,” said Sam-Kelly. He said the plan involved stealing items such as Tran’s bank cards, and even her car, that would ultimately be used by Tran’s boyfriend to give money to Willis he could use against his debts.
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Copyright (c)2015 Winnipeg Free Press, Edition 16/04/2015
By Mike McIntyre
WINNIPEG police homicide detectives didn’t try to hide their disgust as they interrogated a man suspected of the coldblooded execution of a young woman outside her home.
Jurors began watching the lengthy videotaped police interview Wednesday of Trevyonne Willis. The 22-year-old has pleaded not guilty to first-degree for the June 2012 killing of Kaila Tran, 27.
“You’ve impacted so many people’s lives. You’re in a deep, deep pile here,” Det.-Sgt. Miles Riddell told Willis. The arrest came six days after Tran was ambushed by a man dressed in black as she left her St. Vital apartment complex and walked to her car. She was stabbed more than 30 times, and frantic efforts by neighbours to save her were unsuccessful.
“When people look at this, a broad-daylight murder, they’re going to say what would possess someone?” said Riddell. He told Willis there really wasn’t a more “crazy” place to commit a homicide than the quiet, friendly neighbourhood where this occurred — especially with so many potential witnesses around.
“You may as well have gone to centre ice at the MTS Centre and done it,” he said.
Willis says little during the first two hours of the video. He is frequently resting his head on the table and even closing his eyes at various points as Riddell and his partner grill him over what happened.
“We know the what. We just need to know the why. You want to be the carefree killer, the guy who went out and killed someone for no reason?” asked Riddell. “You’re not a hired assassin, right?”
“No,” Willis responds quietly.
“This isn’t something that goes away. You gotta face this, one way or another. You gotta live with this the rest of your life,” said Riddell.
At one point, the officers tell Willis they know his mother died of illness when he was just seven years old. They play on that emotion, saying at least his family had the chance to say goodbye to her.
“Kaila’s mom, Kaila’s sister didn’t get the same chance. You took that from them,” said Riddell. The officers tell Willis his mother would be disappointed in what became of him.
Jurors will conclude watching the video on Thursday, at which point the Crown is expected to close its case following two weeks of evidence.
Willis is accused of killing Tran to get out of a massive drug debt. The key witness against him, his former friend Tremaine Sam-Kelly, testified last week how he spent considerable time with Willis in the days before the slaying, then joined him on the morning it happened.
He said he only agreed to provide “emotional support” for his friend and was stunned at the brutality of Willis’s actions.
Sam-Kelly had met Willis a couple of months earlier, and the pair spent time doing drugs together, including in the hours before the fatal ambush. He said Willis was a desperate man willing to do anything to dig himself out of a huge financial hole linked to his drug habit.
He claimed Willis was approached by someone — Sam-Kelly said he doesn’t know who — and given an “out.” Willis explained he knew Tran through her boyfriend, and that Tran was going to be targeted because she was a “snitch” against her boyfriend.
“(Willis) said if we get rid of her, he can give me the money. The boyfriend,” said Sam-Kelly. He said the plan involved stealing items such as Tran’s bank cards, and even her car, that would ultimately be used by Tran’s boyfriend to give money to Willis he could use against his debts.
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Copyright (c)2015 Winnipeg Free Press, Edition 16/04/2015
confession of what willis had done!
Accused killer confessed to police
Jurors see video admission of murder-for-hire plot
By Mike McIntyre
I T took several hours of intense police interrogation, but homicide detectives finally got their key suspect to break and admit he carried out the murder for- hire of a young Winnipeg woman.
Treyvonne Willis, 22, provided a full, detailed confession during a videotaped interview with homicide detectives that occurred six days after the June 2012 killing. Members of a Winnipeg jury finished viewing the statement Monday.
“I (expletive) up,” Willis says at one point in the video. “I deserve to go to jail for what I did. I murdered her.”
Willis has pleaded not guilty to firstdegree murder for the ambush and execution of Kaila Tran, 27, outside her St. Vital apartment block. He told police he specifically targeted Tran after someone made him a lucrative financial offer — kill Tran and have a massive drug debt disappear.
“It’s (expletive) up, I know this. I apologize to the family,” he said.
But Willis repeatedly refused to say who put him up to the killing, despite repeated pleadings from police to identify the mastermind.
“I start dropping names and it gets worse,” said Willis. “It could put my family in danger.”
Police suggested Tran’s boyfriend, Drake Moslenko, may have arranged the hit. Willis denied that. He also said he was never told why Tran had to be killed.
“I just knew she had to be dealt with and that was it,” he said. “I deal with some bad people. I had to do what I felt necessary at the time.”
The video statement was the final piece of evidence in the trial. The Crown closed its case late Monday, and the defence said it would not be calling any witnesses. Closing arguments are expected Wednesday afternoon, with jury deliberations set to begin Thursday morning.
Jurors began watching the police interview last week. Willis said nothing during the first few hours of the interview while two detectives could barely hide their disgust at what happened. At one point, they brought out gruesome photos of Tran’s dead body, which contained more than 30 stab wounds to her neck, face and head.
“This is no animal. You’re no hunter. This is a human being and you hacked her up,” Det.-Sgt. Miles Riddell told Willis while displaying the photos in front of him. “Look at what you did to her. What kind of animal does this? I hope you enjoyed your last six days since you killed this girl. Because you may not see the outside world for 25 years.”
In cross-examination, Riddell told jurors how Willis was arrested at 5 a.m. while he was intoxicated following a night of partying. The interview began at 7:30 a.m. and lasted past 10 p.m. There were several breaks, including a four-hour window during which Willis took a nap in the room. His lawyers questioned Riddell on Monday why police ignored his requests for a blanket to warm up and didn’t give him anything to eat until nearly 7 p.m.
It was shortly after he was given a sandwich that Willis broke his silence and started talking.
In addition to his own words, the key witness against Willis is his former friend, Tremaine Sam-Kelly, who testified earlier this month how he spent considerable time with Willis in the days before the slaying, then joined him on the morning it happened. He said he only agreed to provide “emotional support” for his friend and was stunned at the brutality of Willis’s actions.
Sam-Kelly had met Willis a couple of months earlier, and the pair spent time doing drugs together, including in the hours before the fatal ambush. He said Willis was a desperate man willing to do anything to dig himself out of a huge financial hole linked to his drug habit.
He claimed Willis was approached by someone — Sam-Kelly said he doesn’t know who — and given an “out.” Willis explained he knew Tran through her boyfriend, and Tran was going to be targeted because she was a “snitch” against her boyfriend.
“(Willis) said if we get rid of her, he can give me the money. The boyfriend,” said Sam-Kelly. He said the plan involved stealing items such as Tran’s bank cards and even her car, which Tran’s boyfriend would ultimately use to give money to Willis against his debts.
When Willis’s lawyers cross-examined Sam-Kelly, they suggested he was the real killer. But in the video statement shown to jurors Monday, Willis denied Sam-Kelly played any role.
“Tremaine didn’t do nothing,” he told police.
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Powered by TECNAVIACopyright (c)2015 Winnipeg Free Press, Edition 21/04/2015
Jurors see video admission of murder-for-hire plot
By Mike McIntyre
I T took several hours of intense police interrogation, but homicide detectives finally got their key suspect to break and admit he carried out the murder for- hire of a young Winnipeg woman.
Treyvonne Willis, 22, provided a full, detailed confession during a videotaped interview with homicide detectives that occurred six days after the June 2012 killing. Members of a Winnipeg jury finished viewing the statement Monday.
“I (expletive) up,” Willis says at one point in the video. “I deserve to go to jail for what I did. I murdered her.”
Willis has pleaded not guilty to firstdegree murder for the ambush and execution of Kaila Tran, 27, outside her St. Vital apartment block. He told police he specifically targeted Tran after someone made him a lucrative financial offer — kill Tran and have a massive drug debt disappear.
“It’s (expletive) up, I know this. I apologize to the family,” he said.
But Willis repeatedly refused to say who put him up to the killing, despite repeated pleadings from police to identify the mastermind.
“I start dropping names and it gets worse,” said Willis. “It could put my family in danger.”
Police suggested Tran’s boyfriend, Drake Moslenko, may have arranged the hit. Willis denied that. He also said he was never told why Tran had to be killed.
“I just knew she had to be dealt with and that was it,” he said. “I deal with some bad people. I had to do what I felt necessary at the time.”
The video statement was the final piece of evidence in the trial. The Crown closed its case late Monday, and the defence said it would not be calling any witnesses. Closing arguments are expected Wednesday afternoon, with jury deliberations set to begin Thursday morning.
Jurors began watching the police interview last week. Willis said nothing during the first few hours of the interview while two detectives could barely hide their disgust at what happened. At one point, they brought out gruesome photos of Tran’s dead body, which contained more than 30 stab wounds to her neck, face and head.
“This is no animal. You’re no hunter. This is a human being and you hacked her up,” Det.-Sgt. Miles Riddell told Willis while displaying the photos in front of him. “Look at what you did to her. What kind of animal does this? I hope you enjoyed your last six days since you killed this girl. Because you may not see the outside world for 25 years.”
In cross-examination, Riddell told jurors how Willis was arrested at 5 a.m. while he was intoxicated following a night of partying. The interview began at 7:30 a.m. and lasted past 10 p.m. There were several breaks, including a four-hour window during which Willis took a nap in the room. His lawyers questioned Riddell on Monday why police ignored his requests for a blanket to warm up and didn’t give him anything to eat until nearly 7 p.m.
It was shortly after he was given a sandwich that Willis broke his silence and started talking.
In addition to his own words, the key witness against Willis is his former friend, Tremaine Sam-Kelly, who testified earlier this month how he spent considerable time with Willis in the days before the slaying, then joined him on the morning it happened. He said he only agreed to provide “emotional support” for his friend and was stunned at the brutality of Willis’s actions.
Sam-Kelly had met Willis a couple of months earlier, and the pair spent time doing drugs together, including in the hours before the fatal ambush. He said Willis was a desperate man willing to do anything to dig himself out of a huge financial hole linked to his drug habit.
He claimed Willis was approached by someone — Sam-Kelly said he doesn’t know who — and given an “out.” Willis explained he knew Tran through her boyfriend, and Tran was going to be targeted because she was a “snitch” against her boyfriend.
“(Willis) said if we get rid of her, he can give me the money. The boyfriend,” said Sam-Kelly. He said the plan involved stealing items such as Tran’s bank cards and even her car, which Tran’s boyfriend would ultimately use to give money to Willis against his debts.
When Willis’s lawyers cross-examined Sam-Kelly, they suggested he was the real killer. But in the video statement shown to jurors Monday, Willis denied Sam-Kelly played any role.
“Tremaine didn’t do nothing,” he told police.
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Powered by TECNAVIACopyright (c)2015 Winnipeg Free Press, Edition 21/04/2015
willis was a paid man for hire
Look at confession: Crown
Jury weighs fate of man in murder for hire
By Mike McIntyre
THE Crown says it’s an open and shut case — Treyvonne Willis planned the killing of Kaila Tran, then executed it with cold-blooded precision.
But defence lawyers for the Winnipeg man have offered jurors several alternative theories and explanations as they begin their deliberations this morning.
Willis, 22, has pleaded not guilty to firstdegree murder for the June 2012 attack. Tran, 27, was ambushed outside her St. Vital apartment block and stabbed at least 30 times. She died of massive injuries despite the efforts of neighbours to save her.
“You should have no doubt whatsoever. He had the requisite intention at that time. He had one purpose, and one purpose only: to kill Kaila Tran,” Crown attorney Daniel Chaput said in his closing argument Wednesday.
He urged them to “follow the evidence” presented during the two-week trial, including from Willis himself in a lengthy videotaped police interview during which he admitted to carrying out the murder for hire in an attempt to get out of a drug debt that may have been as high as $100,000.
“It was the accused who wrote the story. He is the author of his own misfortune,” Chaput said. “Mr. Willis discussed, measured and deliberated the killing.”
But defence lawyer Ursula Goeres painted a different picture. She accused police of repeatedly breaching the rights of Willis during the more than 16 hours they had him locked in the interview room. In her final remarks to the jury Wednesday, Goeres suggested her client was telling police what they wanted to hear out of necessity.
“His will to exercise his right to silence was overcome,” she said.
Goeres said police didn’t give Willis food for more than 12 hours, refused to give him a blanket when he said he was cold and took advantage of the fact he hadn’t slept and was in fear of his own safety from others likely involved in the deadly plot.
“It’s quite likely he was just giving answers to questions to end the interrogation,” she said. “You should not take his admissions to being involved in the killing as reliable.”
Goeres conceded there is other evidence — such as phone records and surveillance video — that place Willis at the scene of the killing. But she told jurors that doesn’t mean he is guilty of premeditated murder.
Goeres suggested Willis may have just been an observer while another man carried out the slaying. She pointed the finger of blame at Tremaine Sam-Kelly, a key Crown witness who testified against Willis, his former friend. Sam-Kelly told jurors he was asked to provide “support” for Willis before, during and after the killing.
Sam-Kelly told jurors Willis was a desperate man willing to do anything to dig himself out of a huge financial hole linked to his drug habit.
He claimed Willis was approached by someone — Sam-Kelly said he didn’t know who — and given an “out.” Willis explained he knew Tran through her boyfriend, and Tran was going to be targeted because she was a “snitch” against her boyfriend.
In his statement to police, Willis repeatedly told officers Sam-Kelly played no part in the murder and that he was solely responsible.
“I (expletive) up,” Willis said at one point in the video. “I deserve to go to jail for what I did. I murdered her.” He refused to say who put him up to the killing, saying his family members would be hurt if he did.
But even if jurors accept Willis plunged the knife into Tran, his lawyer urged them to consider he may have been too high on drugs at the time to form the necessary intent. Sam-Kelly testified he and Willis both took an unknown quantity of “Molly” — also called ecstasy — just before the incident.
Goeres suggested Wednesday her client may have just been planning to rob Tran, not kill her, when things got out of hand and he acted “impulsively.”
She questioned why Willis wouldn’t have gone to greater lengths to cover his tracks if he knew he was going to commit murder. “That doesn’t speak to careful planning or deliberation,” she said. “This wasn’t a plan. I might describe this as a gong show.”
Jurors will have several alternative verdicts to consider, including second-degree murder or manslaughter.
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Powered by TECNAVIACopyright (c)2015 Winnipeg Free Press, Edition 23/04/2015
a life sentence (25 years) for a life - is it enough?
Life for ‘cold, planned’ murder
Man convicted in killing of Kaila Tran
By Mike McIntyre
A DEBT owed. A decision made. A life stolen.
Now, the Winnipeg man behind a sadistic killing has been convicted of the most serious charge in the Criminal Code.
Treyvonne Willis, 22, showed little reaction Friday as jurors — several of them weeping — found him guilty of first-degree murder for the 2012 ambush and execution of 27-year-old Kaila Tran outside her St. Vital apartment block.
He was immediately sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for at least 25 years.
“The murder was cold and planned and it was ruthlessly executed,” Queen’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal said in concluding the high-profile case. “It is one of the most heinous crimes that can be carried out in a civilized society.”
Jurors had been deliberating since late Thursday morning, and the heavy burden placed upon them was apparent on their faces. All 12 chose to remain for the sentencing hearing, which included powerful victim-impact statements from Tran’s stepfather and two sisters.
“This has been a nightmare from Day 1. The reason will never make sense to us,” said Robert Fawley. “She never did anything to anyone. How could something like this happen to her? It made no sense then. It makes less sense now.”
He described Tran as a remarkable young woman “who had the biggest smile in the room and the biggest heart to match.”
He recalled their final conversation, telling her he loved her and would see her soon.
“Thirty hours later, she was dead,” he said.
Sabrina Anger-Fawley’s statement, read out by the Crown, said the entire family has been shattered by the cowardly killing of her sister.
“She was my best friend. Always there for me,” she wrote. “My family is no longer whole. Nobody is happy. Everyone is waiting for their turn to die.”
Anger-Fawley described seeing Tran in hospital, hooked up to machines and fighting a battle she would not win. “She had a smile that was stolen from her by a careless act. Why did she have to be the one to go?” she said. “I want peace. And I want justice for my sister’s soul.”
Willis declined an invitation to speak in court Friday. But he had plenty to say in a lengthy videotaped police interview following his arrest, admitting to carrying out the murder in an attempt to get out of a drug debt that may have been as high as $100,000.
“I (expletive) up,” Willis said at one point in the video. “I deserve to go to jail for what I did. I murdered her.” He refused to say who put him up to the killing.
Despite the admission, Willis fought the charge on several grounds. Defence lawyer Ursula Goeres accused police of repeatedly breaching Willis’s rights during the more than 16 hours they had him locked in the interview room. In her final remarks to the jury, Goeres suggested her client was telling police what they wanted to hear out of necessity.
Goeres conceded there was other evidence — such as phone records and surveillance video — that placed Willis at the scene of the killing. But she told jurors that didn’t mean he was guilty of premeditated murder.
Goeres suggested Willis may have just been an observer while another man carried out the slaying. She pointed the finger of blame at Tremaine Sam-Kelly, a key Crown witness who testified against Willis, his former friend. Sam-Kelly told jurors he was asked to provide “support” for Willis before, during and after the killing.
Sam-Kelly told jurors Willis was a desperate man willing to do anything to dig himself out of a huge financial hole linked to his drug habit.
Even if jurors accepted Willis plunged the knife into Tran, his lawyer urged them to consider he may have been too high on drugs at the time to form the necessary intent for first-degree murder. Sam-Kelly testified he and Willis both took an unknown quantity of “Molly” — also called ecstasy — just before the killing.
Goeres also suggested her client may have just been planning to rob Tran, not kill her, when things got out of hand and he acted “impulsively.”
Jurors did have several alternative verdicts to consider, including second-degree murder or manslaughter.
With Willis now serving a life sentence, Manitoba justice officials must decide what to do with the man previously accused of hiring him to carry out the crime.
Drake Moslenko, 28, walked out of court a free man last June when the Crown abruptly announced a stay-of-proceedings on a first-degree murder charge. Moslenko — Tran’s boyfriend — was in the midst of a preliminary hearing at the time. The Crown told court the surprise decision was made after losing a legal ruling earlier in the hearing. No other explanation was provided. A court-ordered ban prevents specific details of the proceedings from being published.
The move gave the Crown exactly one year to either re-lay the charge against Moslenko or forever lose the ability to prosecute him. That deadline is fast approaching. It’s not clear what, if any, impact the Willis trial and verdict will have on their decision.
mikeoncrime.com
‘This has been a nightmare from Day 1. The reason will never make sense to us. She never did anything to anyone. How could something like this happen to her? It made no sense then. It makes less sense now’ — Robert Fawley, stepfather of Kaila Tran
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