Three found guilty of killing cab driver
Hassan Yussuf, who had seven children, had fled war-torn Somalia
Three peoplehave been found guilty in the death of cab driver Hassan Yussuf, whose stabbedbody was found in the trunk of his Edmontontaxi.
LateThursday evening, a jury found Deidre Renne Baptiste, 23, and Ronald Adrian Crane, 27, both of Hobbema, guilty of second-degree murder, andBlair Strongman, 25, of Ponoka,guilty of manslaughter.
All three were found guilty of unlawful confinement and robbery. They are to be sentenced on Friday.
Outside the courtroom, supporters of the trio taunted Yussuf's family and friends.
"It's sad, it's very sad. They were just walking down here screaming … 'This is our land, get out of our land, we pay taxes and everything,'" said Abdi Mahamood,Yussuf's son.
The three accusedhad been charged with first-degree murder, unlawful confinement and robbery. Mahamood said he was disappointed they were found guilty of lesser charges.
"This should have been first-degree murder," he said. "We don't have a dad anymore."
Yussuf fled war-torn Somalia
Yussuf had fled war-torn Somalia for Canada. He and his wife were raising their seven children in Ottawa. He had come to Edmonton before his April 2005 death to drive a cab and had been working extra shifts to be able to afford to bring his family to his new city.
His family said Yussuf had two degrees and spoke five languages, and had hoped to eventually find work as an electrician.
Kathy Fiddler, the chief witness for the prosecution in the Court of Queen's Bench trial, told the jury that she was drinking with the accused, who were also doing drugs, in her inner-city apartment the night Yussuf died.
The group later caught a cab and Strongman asked the driver to stop on a side road because he was going to be sick, she said.
Baptiste and Crane attacked Yussuf, stabbing him despite his pleas to be spared, Fiddler said. Yussuf was then thrown in the trunk of his taxi, but he kicked and banged as they drove off.
Fiddler said Crane then said to the others: "Let's go finish this."
The cab stopped and after Strongman and Crane jumped out, the noise stopped, Fiddler said.