Pipe bomb that killed paraplegic disguised as Christmas present, court told

[spaminator]

Pipe bomb that killed paraplegic disguised as Christmas present, court told
By Kevin Martin, Calgary Sun
First posted: Monday, January 19, 2015 05:00 PM EST | Updated: Monday, January 19, 2015 05:08 PM EST
RED DEER, Alta. -- The bomb that instantly killed Innisfail, Alta., paraplegic Vicky Shachtay was disguised as a Christmas present, a Crown attorney said Monday at the start of her accused murderer's trial.
Crown attorney Anders Quist told a jury the components used to make the deadly pipe bomb were all bought by accused killer Brian Malley in the months leading up to Shachtay's death.
But defence lawyer Bob Aloneissi said those components were everyday items and jurors shouldn't be looking for Shachtay's killer in their midst.
Instead, Aloneissi suggested, the deadly package may have come from someone wnting to send a message to Schachtay or her family.
The lawyer based his assertion in part on the fact Shachtay's father heard about the package and advised her not to open it.
"His response (on hearing she'd received a package) was 'don't open it, call the police' -- in his mind he thought it was a bomb," Aloneissi said.
The lawyer called the father's words a "very strange and accurate prophecy."
"This is no ordinary murder but a vengeful act committed with extreme hate for Ms. Shachtay, or her family members, and it comes with a very loud, scary message, 'don't mess with us,'" he said.
But Quist said Malley had a motive to kill Shachtay, who was paralyzed in a 2004 car crash and used him to handle her 2007 settlement.
Quist said by the time of Schachtay's Nov. 24, 2011, death the money -- more than $500,000 from her settlement and another $200,000 she'd borrowed -- had run out and Malley was using his own cash to cover her expenses.
"Our theory is that he killed her to cut his losses," Quist said.
He said the pipe bomb left on Schachtay's doorstep was placed in a box, and then put in a green and gold Christmas package and rigged to explode when it was opened.
"When she lifted the lid on the box the pipe bomb instantly exploded and she was instantly killed," Quist said.
Malley is charged with first-degree murder in Shachtay's slaying.
He also faces two explosives charges.
Malley is free on bail pending a verdict in the trial, which is scheduled to last six weeks.
Vicky Shachtay and daughter Destiny are shown in this undated supplied photo. (Supplied photo)

Pipe bomb that killed paraplegic disguised as Christmas present, court told | Ca

 

[spaminator]

Witnesses testify about finding quadriplegic woman killed by pipe bomb
Kevin Martin, QMI Agency
First posted: Tuesday, January 20, 2015 08:36 PM EST | Updated: Tuesday, January 20, 2015 08:50 PM EST
RED DEER, Alta. — Neighbours of Vicky Shachtay rushed to her Innisfail, Alta., home moments after a shocking explosion to find the wheelchair-bound woman was beyond hope, a jury heard Tuesday.
Evan Schielke and Linda Braun both ran to the victim's residence after a pipe bomb rocked the sleepy central Alberta town.
"I just looked and I saw she was dead," Braun told Crown prosecutor Anders Quist.
She said it was clear to her Shachtay was deceased, even though she didn't check for a pulse.
"Her head was slouched over at an odd angle and her eyes were open," Braun said.
Schielke said he was standing on his balcony getting ready to go to work when the silence was pierced by a loud boom.
"I heard an explosion and I saw glass flying out the window towards the street."
Schielke lived next door to Shachtay, while Braun lived across the street.
Both were giving evidence at the first-degree murder trial of Brian Malley, who is accused of the Nov. 25, 2011, killing of Shachtay, 23.
It's the Crown's theory Malley squandered hundreds of thousands of Shachtay's settlement over an accident that left her a quadriplegic and decided to stop paying her living expenses and "cut his losses."
Malley has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge, as well as two explosives allegations.
Schielke said when he got to Shachtay's home he found her caregiver, Marlene Punongbayan, screaming in the
"She was screaming, crying, shaking," Schielke, who said he had to physically move Punongbayan out of the way to get inside, testified.
He said he went inside to view the carnage.
"There was blood coming from her head, there were black marks on her face, there was blood on her shoulder and the floor," he said.
Malley's trial resumes Wednesday.
kevin.martin@sunmedia.ca
On Twitter: @SUNKevinMartin
Witnesses testify about finding quadriplegic woman killed by pipe bomb | Canada

 

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Alberta mom warned against opening killer explosive package
By Kevin Martin, Calgary Sun
First posted: Wednesday, January 21, 2015 08:21 PM EST
RED DEER, Alta. - Despite warnings from her stepdad and caregiver not to open a mystery Christmas present, Vicky Shachtay did, dying instantly when a bomb inside exploded, court heard Wednesday.
"She told me 'no, it's fine,'" Shachtay's live-in caregiver, Marlene Punongbayan, told a murder trial.
Moments earlier, Punongbayan told Shachtay she should heed a warning that morning from the disabled woman's stepfather, Rick Bercier.
"I remembered what I heard from Rick Bercier," Punongbayan testified.
"I told her don't open the gift, we don't know where it came from." Shachtay didn't take the advice.
"I was facing the sink and then I just heard a big explosion," Punongbayan said, adding she immediately turned towards the area where the explosion occurred.
"I saw Vicky was bleeding from her neck already," she said.
Punongbayan was testifying at the first-degree murder trial of Brian Malley, 57, who is accused of killing Shachtay after losing nearly $800,000 of her investments.
Punongbayan, who shared Shachtay's Innisfail, Alta, townhouse with the deceased and her daughter, said she found the package on their doorstep when she let the dogs out around 6:45 a.m. Nov. 25, 2011.
She brought it in and placed it on a freezer near the doorway, where it sat while Punongbayan took Shachtay to Bercier's nearby home so the wheelchair-bound woman could shower.
While the caregiver prepared the bathroom, Shachtay told Bercier about the mystery gift, which was placed inside a green Christmas bag.
"Rick Bercier told Vicky 'don't open that gift, just call the police,'" Punongbayan testified.
She said when she brought the bag into the home she saw a paper inside with Shachtay's first an last names on it, but her given name was misspelled "Vicktoria."
During cross-examination, defence lawyer Bob Aloneissi suggested Punongbayan may have dreamed seeing the note, since she didn't remember it until 3 a.m. the day after Shachtay was slain.
"I saw what is written on the package, for sure," the witness insisted.
Punongbayan also told Aloneissi her employer had no enemies.
"Did you know anybody that would hate her so much they would kill her?" He asked.
"No," the caregiver said.
And Punongbayan admitted she was surprised when Malley was charged by the RCMP with Shachtay's murder, agreeing he got along with with the deceased and her family.
The trial continues on Thursday.
kevin.martin@sunmedia.ca
On Twitter: @SUNKevinMartin
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