Abiram Subramaniam guilty of 2nd-degree murder of Joshua Williams
CBC News | Posted: January 22, 2016 8:52 PM | Last Updated: January 23, 2016
Police used 'Mr. Big' sting operation to get taped confession after witnesses refused to talk
A jury has found Abiram Subramaniam guilty of second-degree murder for the stabbing death of 18-year-old Joshua Williams in 2011.
The jury of six men and four women deliberated for a day and a half before handing down their verdict Friday.
Subramaniam, 23, was also found guilty of robbing Clinton Sathiyaseelan, a friend of Williams, who was present when Williams was killed.
The jury has recommended Subramaniam serve the minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, however Superior Court Justice Marc-André Blanchard is not bound by that recommendation.
Blanchard is to hear sentencing arguments on Feb. 10.
Subramaniam was accused of killing Williams, a Liberal Arts student at Dawson College, in the parking lot of Côte-des-Neiges Plaza.
Williams was stabbed six times after he stepped in to help his friend Sathiyaseelan, after Subramaniam stole his ring.
Elaborate sting
Subramaniam confessed to the murder on tape, but the confession was made using a controversial "Mr. Big" sting.
An undercover officer pretending to be a member of a fictitious crime ring developed a friendship with Subramaniam over several months and introduced him to an RCMP undercover agent posing as a crime boss.
Police resorted to this tactic because Sathiyaseelan refused to collaborate with them.
The jury heard how the RCMP undercover agent brought in by Montreal police to help set up the "Mr. Big" sting paid Subramaniam $18,000 over three months, flew him to B.C. and put him up in hotels – all part of an elaborate strategy to extract a confession.
In 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld a lower court ruling in Newfoundland that placed stricter rules on such police stings.
Grounds for appeal?
Subramaniam's defence lawyer, Alexandra Longueville, said she will consult with her client to decide whether there are any serious grounds to appeal.
"The Supreme Court has decided that [a 'Mr. Big' sting] would be admissible under certain circumstances," she said. "What we have to verify is if Justice Blanchard took into account every criteria and anything that he had to take into consideration."
She said the age of the suspect, who was just 19 at the time of the murder, and the financial inducements used as part of the strategy to elicit a confession are among the factors that must be considered.
'False alibi'
In the final days of the trial, Subramaniam testified he had an alibi – that he had not been present at the time of Williams' stabbing because he had to rush away to return his car to his mother so that she could go to church.
Crown prosecutor Louis Bouthillier said he was "obviously very satisfied that the jury saw through that false alibi that was raised at the last minute by the accused."
Victim's mother 'numb' but relieved
Williams' mother, Jeannine James, sat through every day of the lengthy trial, including days of court proceedings from which the jury was excluded.
Weeping with relief at the verdict, James said she was simply numb after waiting so long for the trial to conclude.
She has described her son Joshua as "a bright kid, a good guy, a bit of a risk-taker, but fearless." She said he had a strong sense of fair play, and it was in his character to act the "Good Samaritan" and step in to help a friend.
"I am pleased," she told reporters outside the courtroom after Friday's verdict.
"I think the accused did what he was alleged to have done, and I think there must be consequences...It was fair."