Mike on Crime

THE CANADIAN PRESS
LONDON, Ont. — Gasps and sobs nearly drowned out court proceedings Wednesday as gruesome crime-scene photos detailing the fatal wounds and blood-stained bodies of eight men connected to the Bandidos outlaw motorcycle club were displayed.
The victims of Ontario’s largest-ever mass slaying were found stuffed into four vehicles in a rural farmer’s field in southwestern Ontario in April 2006.
Six men are standing trial on charges of first-degree murder, and the first day of evidence began in shocking fashion. Dozens of television screens in the high-tech courtroom flashed ghastly close-up photos depicting how the eight died.
Justice Thomas Heeney warned jurors to “steel themselves” as provincial police Const. Ross Stuart, the lead forensic investigator, ran court through the images.
When police approached the vehicles it was immediately obvious what was inside, Stuart told court.
Some bodies had been partially covered with clothing or blankets, one was rolled in an area rug, and another was left in a car trunk with no attempt to conceal it.
Stuart catalogued the victims, describing how their slumped, bloodied bodies were discovered.
Some of the swollen faces bore obvious gunshot wounds, with trails of dried blood caked down their faces. For others it wasn’t as obviously apparent how they died, although the visible blood and trauma to their bodies was unmistakable.
The Crown alleges the murdered men were shot one by one as the result of a feud between two chapters of the Bandidos.
The sobbing of family members was heard throughout Stuart’s testimony as he went through several angles for each of the slain victims.
The courtroom is equipped with individual screens for the judge, each of the 12 jurors, and the 18 lawyers representing the Crown and the accused, who also have their own screen to view evidence.
Large widescreen TVs are also setup for those in the body of court to view.
Charged in the deaths are Wayne Kellestine, 59, and Frank Mather, 35, of Dutton-Dunwich, Ont.; Brett Gardiner, 24, of no fixed address; and Michael Sandham, 39, Marcelo Aravena, 32, and Dwight Mushey, 41, all of Winnipeg.
The victims were George Jessome, 52; George Kriarakis, 28; Luis Manny Raposo, 41; Frank Salerno, 43, all of Toronto; John Muscedere, 48, of Chatham, Ont.; Paul Sinopoli, 30, of Sutton, Ont.; Jamie Flanz, 37, of Keswick, Ont.; and Michael Trotta, 31, of Mississauga, Ont.
The victims were all either members or associates of the Toronto chapter of the Bandidos.
The trial got underway Tuesday with the Crown’s opening statement and is expected to last as long as six months.