Cop killer haunts widow more than eight years after husband slain
Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
Published:
August 13, 2019
Updated:
August 13, 2019 9:22 AM EDT
Christine Russell, widow of Toronto Police Sgt. Ryan Russell, speaks to media after the ORB hearing, regarding the possible conditional discharge of her husband's killer, Richard Kachkar, at the Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health, in Whitby, on Friday, July 13, 2018. (Stan Behal/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network)
WHITBY — The widow of slain Toronto Police Sgt. Ryan Russell complimented the Ontario Review Board for acknowledging the daunting emotional toll the killing of her husband has had on her and her son.
During cop-killer Richard Kachkar’s annual appearance before the ORB, the chair consoled Christine Russell, saying she realized how emotional and difficult it was for her to speak at the hearing.
“That’s the first year that has ever been said like that to me. It’s nice,” said Russell, who reminded Kachkar it has been eight years and seven months since he went on a rampage in a stolen snow plow and crushed Sgt. Ryan Russell.
Richard Kachkar is shown in an undated photo taken from a Facebook page.
In 2013, Kachkar was found not criminally responsible (NCR) and acquitted of first-degree murder in the Jan. 11, 2011 slaying of Russell. The ORB holds hearings to review the detention and release conditions of people found not criminally responsible of crimes.
“You (Kachkar) decided that fate by killing my husband,” Christine Russell told Kachkar, 53. “And every year since I’ve been forced to face that man (Kachkar). I was never given a chance (for a full life).”
Toronto Police Sgt. Ryan Russell is shown in an undated handout photo.
Last year, the review board ordered Kachkar released with a slew of conditions. The board is reviewing his status and will release its latest decision in a few weeks.
Kachkar fears he might be “targeted” by people in the community if they know his identity, the hearing was told.
Three psychiatrists testified at Kachkar’s trial and all agreed that Kachkar could not be held criminally responsible due to a mental disorder when he bolted from a homeless shelter in his bare feet on a freezing day, stole an idling snowplow and took a violent joyride through Toronto’s snowy streets, striking the young sergeant on Avenue Rd.
Richard Kachkar receives conditional discharge in death of Sgt. Ryan Russell
Killer’s freedom leaves widow of slain Toronto police officer ‘speechless’
MANDEL: Sgt. Ryan Russell’s killer seeks conditional discharge five years after deemed NCR
The conditions of Kachkar’s release include reporting to a mental health facility every two weeks, not driving a vehicle and abstaining from alcohol and drugs. He must submit to random urine or breath tests to ensure he’s not consuming alcohol or drugs.
He’s also banned from possessing any weapons.
spazzano@postmedia.com
http://torontosun.com/news/crime/cop-killer-haunts-widow-more-than-eight-years-after-husband-slain
Sam Pazzano Courts Bureau
Published:
August 13, 2019
Updated:
August 13, 2019 9:22 AM EDT
Christine Russell, widow of Toronto Police Sgt. Ryan Russell, speaks to media after the ORB hearing, regarding the possible conditional discharge of her husband's killer, Richard Kachkar, at the Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health, in Whitby, on Friday, July 13, 2018. (Stan Behal/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network)
WHITBY — The widow of slain Toronto Police Sgt. Ryan Russell complimented the Ontario Review Board for acknowledging the daunting emotional toll the killing of her husband has had on her and her son.
During cop-killer Richard Kachkar’s annual appearance before the ORB, the chair consoled Christine Russell, saying she realized how emotional and difficult it was for her to speak at the hearing.
“That’s the first year that has ever been said like that to me. It’s nice,” said Russell, who reminded Kachkar it has been eight years and seven months since he went on a rampage in a stolen snow plow and crushed Sgt. Ryan Russell.
Richard Kachkar is shown in an undated photo taken from a Facebook page.
In 2013, Kachkar was found not criminally responsible (NCR) and acquitted of first-degree murder in the Jan. 11, 2011 slaying of Russell. The ORB holds hearings to review the detention and release conditions of people found not criminally responsible of crimes.
“You (Kachkar) decided that fate by killing my husband,” Christine Russell told Kachkar, 53. “And every year since I’ve been forced to face that man (Kachkar). I was never given a chance (for a full life).”
Toronto Police Sgt. Ryan Russell is shown in an undated handout photo.
Last year, the review board ordered Kachkar released with a slew of conditions. The board is reviewing his status and will release its latest decision in a few weeks.
Kachkar fears he might be “targeted” by people in the community if they know his identity, the hearing was told.
Three psychiatrists testified at Kachkar’s trial and all agreed that Kachkar could not be held criminally responsible due to a mental disorder when he bolted from a homeless shelter in his bare feet on a freezing day, stole an idling snowplow and took a violent joyride through Toronto’s snowy streets, striking the young sergeant on Avenue Rd.
Richard Kachkar receives conditional discharge in death of Sgt. Ryan Russell
Killer’s freedom leaves widow of slain Toronto police officer ‘speechless’
MANDEL: Sgt. Ryan Russell’s killer seeks conditional discharge five years after deemed NCR
The conditions of Kachkar’s release include reporting to a mental health facility every two weeks, not driving a vehicle and abstaining from alcohol and drugs. He must submit to random urine or breath tests to ensure he’s not consuming alcohol or drugs.
He’s also banned from possessing any weapons.
spazzano@postmedia.com
http://torontosun.com/news/crime/cop-killer-haunts-widow-more-than-eight-years-after-husband-slain
