Friday, July 2, 2010

Winnipeg teen not guilty in random killing

Last Updated: Thursday, July 1, 2010 | 5:48 PM CST
CBC News


A young Winnipeg man has been found not guilty of taking part in the random beating that killed Audrey Cooper on a city street almost four years ago.

Jurors reached the verdict late Wednesday night.

Audrey Cooper, 34, was beaten, stripped naked and urinated on when she was swarmed by a group of youths, who tossed loose change on her after the attack.

The youths, who included three girls, were upset Cooper didn't give them a cigarette when they walked by her home on Spence Street in October 2006, court was told.

The 19-year-old man acquitted Wednesday can't be named because he was only 15 at the time of the slaying. He claimed he was a bystander to the attack and pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.

Three girls — one 12 years old at the time, and two who were 14 — have already admitted their roles in the fatal beating.

The youngest pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter in exchange for her testimony against the man. She got the maximum youth sentence of two years in custody and one year of community supervision.

The two other girls pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and were given the maximum youth sentence of four years in custody and three years of community supervision.

Court was told at the girls' sentencing that Cooper suffered a brain hemorrhage and ruptured organs during the attack, which police described as completely random.

From: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/07/01/mb-audrey-cooper-man-acquitted.html

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