Man acquitted of manslaughter in North End slaying due to unreliable evidence: court decision

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 10, 2025 4:02 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

A justice has acquitted a Winnipeg antheral accused of manslaughter successful a fatal shooting astatine a North End apartment, citing unreliable grounds and inconsistent witnesser testimony.

"I volition ne'er cognize the truth," said Judge Sheldon W. Lanchbery.

Angus John Maple was 40 years aged erstwhile helium was gunned down connected the evening of Nov. 24, 2021. The sidesplitting happened successful his apartment, wherever helium sold and traded drugs and stolen merchandise, by 2 men who intended to rob him, according to a written determination from the Court of King's Bench.

Timothy Wilfred Christopher Lecoy Maple, 33 years aged astatine the clip helium was charged, walked escaped past month. He was primitively charged with second-degree execution aft Maple was brought to infirmary with a gunshot coiled from Mountain Avenue, betwixt Salter and Main streets, wherever helium aboriginal died.

His co-accused Thunder Lightning Fontaine, who was 22 years aged erstwhile charged successful Maple's death, volition service 12 years successful situation aft his 2023 manslaughter condemnation by a judge.

'Silent witnesses defeated' 

The determination published connected Feb. 12 says the deceased's roommate was Chelsea Paul, a starring witnesser successful the lawsuit and the parent of Fontaine's children, who lived with Maple to assistance him to show his diabetes and crab diagnosis and guarantee helium took his medications.

The nighttime of Maple's death, footage from a camera installed wrong the flat pictured Fontaine carrying a weapon wrong the apartment, followed by Lecoy Maple, who was carrying a buying bag.

While speaking to Fontaine, Paul is pictured walking toward a camera, called a Wyze Cam, and twisting the video camera "flat against a coagulated object" earlier the shooting.

"Chelsea spoke arsenic she moved towards the Wyze Cam, 'oops, my bad.' Her words were spoken successful a precise casual mode bordering connected a joke," said Lanchbery.

Around 1 hr later, a gunshot dependable was captured connected the interior camera which inactive could grounds audio contempt the obscured imaginativeness connected the video footage.

Paul testified that aft the shooting, she took the deceased's cellphone, which had entree to a video from a doorbell camera installed successful the suite crossed the hall, and the doorbell camera installed successful the different suite.

Lanchbery said Paul's actions to "defeat 2 soundless witnesses" by concealing video grounds on with a "demonstrated inability to firmly place people" successful the suite astatine the clip of the shooting made her an unreliable witness.

Paul was besides interviewed by officers respective times, but determination were inconsistencies successful the 3 statements she provided to police, the determination said

The cellphone and doorbell video footage and doorbell camera were ne'er found, tribunal heard.

"Without having entree to the video grounds Chelsea prevented the tribunal from viewing, I americium near with tenable uncertainty that [Lecoy] Maple was adjacent contiguous astatine the clip of the shooting," said Lanchbery.

"Therefore, the Crown's lawsuit results successful the Crown failing to beryllium beyond a tenable uncertainty [Lecoy] Maple acted successful a communal intent with Thunder to perpetrate robbery," Lanchbery said.

"I acquit Timothy Wilfred Christopher Lecoy Maple of the offence of manslaughter successful the decease of Angus John Maple."