Three fatal beatings caught on surveillance video
A man arrested in the killings of three street people will plead guilty to three counts of second-degree murder, a court heard Wednesday.
John Paul Ostamas was arrested last April in the killings of Donald Collins, 65, Stony Stanley Bushie, 48, and Miles Monias, 37.
Ostamas, 40, was originally charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder but, in an agreement between prosecutors and the defence, will admit to second-degree murder in all three killings.
The guilty pleas “are grounded in the fact that Mr. Ostamas beat each of the three (victims) to death,” Crown attorney Sheila Leinburd told Judge Lynne Stannard. “Autopsies confirm that each of the deceased died as the result of injuries sustained from these beatings.”
Ostamas is expected to enter his guilty pleas in the next couple of weeks.
Collins was found dead on April 25, near 329 Hargrave Street. Bushie’s body was found about 18 hours later behind 333 Portage Avenue. Police at the time said the men had been killed within four hours of each other.
Monias was beaten in a Main Street bus shelter on April 10, 2015 and later died in hospital.
Ostamas admits to the killings, which were captured on surveillance video, said defence lawyer Greg Brodsky. Ostamas will not raise a claim he was not criminally responsible for the killings, Brodsky said.
“He did kill three people ... and knew he was killing them,” Brodsky said.
Guilty plea in homeless murders | Home | Winnipeg Sun
A man arrested in the killings of three street people will plead guilty to three counts of second-degree murder, a court heard Wednesday.
John Paul Ostamas was arrested last April in the killings of Donald Collins, 65, Stony Stanley Bushie, 48, and Miles Monias, 37.
Ostamas, 40, was originally charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder but, in an agreement between prosecutors and the defence, will admit to second-degree murder in all three killings.
The guilty pleas “are grounded in the fact that Mr. Ostamas beat each of the three (victims) to death,” Crown attorney Sheila Leinburd told Judge Lynne Stannard. “Autopsies confirm that each of the deceased died as the result of injuries sustained from these beatings.”
Ostamas is expected to enter his guilty pleas in the next couple of weeks.
Collins was found dead on April 25, near 329 Hargrave Street. Bushie’s body was found about 18 hours later behind 333 Portage Avenue. Police at the time said the men had been killed within four hours of each other.
Monias was beaten in a Main Street bus shelter on April 10, 2015 and later died in hospital.
Ostamas admits to the killings, which were captured on surveillance video, said defence lawyer Greg Brodsky. Ostamas will not raise a claim he was not criminally responsible for the killings, Brodsky said.
“He did kill three people ... and knew he was killing them,” Brodsky said.
Guilty plea in homeless murders | Home | Winnipeg Sun