WWII vet, 101, tied up and robbed in Ottawa condo

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WWII veteran Ernest Cote wanted civilian burial
By Aedan Helmer, Ottawa Sun First posted: Friday, February 27, 2015 07:36 PM EST | Updated: Friday, February 27, 2015 10:50 PM EST
Ernest Cote lived his life as a soldier but he will be interred as a civilian following a private funeral expected to be brimming with dignitaries and supporters.
Cote, a decorated veteran of the Second World War who was victimized in a high-profile December home invasion, passed away of natural causes Wednesday at age 101.
Family members said Friday Cote "made his wishes very clear" in his will, with his funeral to be held at the historic Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica on Sussex Dr., with the service Saturday, March 7 beginning at 9 a.m.
Amid public calls for a traditional military funeral, Veterans Affairs said Friday Cote's family had already made funeral arrangements, "and Veterans Affairs respects the wishes of the family."
The family said they opted for the larger church, rather than Cote's home parish of St-Anne Catholic Church in Lowertown, due to the anticipated outpouring from the community.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper -- who said he was "appalled" by the alleged robbery -- was among the first to offer condolences following Cote's passing, calling him a "true Canadian hero."
Visitations will be held at Racine, Robert & Gauthier Funeral Home on Montreal Rd. on Thursday, March 5 and Friday, March 6.
The family has asked for donations to the Montfort Hospital, where Cote passed away, in lieu of flowers.
Twitter: @OttSunHelmer
Ernest Cote. CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP Photo

WWII veteran Ernest Cote wanted civilian burial | Ontario | News | Toronto Sun

 

[tay]

A jury has found Ian Bush guilty in one of Ottawa's most shocking homicide cases.


Bush is convicted of three counts of first-degree murder. The victims were retired tax judge Alban Garon, his wife, Raymonde Garon, and their friend and neighbour Marie-Claire Beniskos.

Bush receives three automatic life sentences for his crimes. They will be served simultaneously, Ontario Superior Court Justice Colin McKinnon explained, because the murders happened before 2011

That means Bush will serve 25 years in prison before being eligible for parole.

The jury took just one hour and 22 minutes to reach a verdict. Bush looked up at the clock and briefly closed his eyes after it was read.

Crown attorney James Cavanagh read a statement from a relative of Marie-Claire Beniskos, who told Bush he "chose the most cowardly way possible" to deal with his problems.

"You killed three innocent people, nice people, good people that you didn't even know, and for what, fun, greed, attention," Cavanagh said, reading the statement.

"You are beyond rehabilitation. God forbid you should ever be free in society every again. Justice has been served."

Justice McKinnon called Bush's "brutal, gratuitous" murders inexplicable and incomprehensible. The fact that Bush forced his family to testify against him "shows you have no shame whatsoever," McKinnon said.

The judge also pointed out Bush's obvious "contempt" for the court process, and for McKinnon himself.

Bush smiled and laughed when McKinnon ordered the prisoner removed. Family and supporters of the victims clapped and shouted "good" as he was led away.

Alban Garon, who was the former chief justice of the Tax Court of Canada and the intended target, was made to suffer more than the others, court heard during the trial that began in early April.

Bush's rage had, by that summer, been simmering for at least 15 years.

In the 1990s he battled Revenue Canada, as it was then known, over business expenses and moving costs.

The case finally made its way to the Tax Court of Canada in 1997, and a hearing was eventually scheduled to be heard in Ottawa in January 2001.

Bush told the Tax Court he was unavailable that day for "business reasons," but the court denied his request to set a new date.

It was Garon, then the chief justice of the Tax Court, who made that decision, Bush's trial heard.

Six years later, dealing with financial strain, a house he couldn't afford to buy, and arguments with his brother about the tens of thousands of dollars Bush owed their mother, Bush went looking for Garon again — this time with fatal results.

Finding him was easy to do. The retired judge's address, even his apartment number, could be found easily on Canada411. The listing remains online today.

Forensic investigators found a body hair that the defence admitted belonged to Bush, and drops of Garon's blood revealed the presence of someone else's DNA as well, but at that time the killer's DNA wasn't in the national databank.

When Bush was arrested, he had no criminal record.

The break in the case didn't come until years later, in December 2014, when police allege Bush broke into a Second World War veteran's apartment, placed a plastic bag over his head and robbed him. The victim, 101-year-old Ernest Côté, survived the incident.

Bush was arrested and charged in connection with that crime later that same month. Those charges have not been tested in court, and the trial is scheduled for this fall.

(We've been prevented from reporting this connection until now because Justice McKinnon, who oversaw the homicide trial, made a ruling beforehand that the Côté incident could not be referred to at all. If the jury heard about the Côté incident, it would have overwhelmingly influenced the jury against Bush, and could have potentially forced a mistrial.)

After Bush's arrest in December 2014, police searched his home and found a satchel in the basement containing ropes, plastic bags with suffocation warnings printed on them, knives, a sawed-off shotgun and more.

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Ian Bush found guilty of 'brutal' 2007 triple murder - Ottawa - CBC News