Witness Danny Simao changed his story repeatedly in murder trial

Witness changed his story 

- Danny Simao lied on the witness stand, changed his story several times and may have exaggerated an illness to evade the punishing probing of defence lawyers, Justice Brenda Keyser told jurors Thursday.

- “Common sense tells you that there is good reason to look at Danny Simao’s evidence with the greatest care and caution,” said Keyser, delivering her final instructions to jurors before they began deliberating the fates of Glen Monkman, Norris Ponce and Carlos Tavares.

- Monkman was convicted of second-degree murder while Ponce and Tavares were convicted of manslaughter in the stabbing death of Minh Hong Huynh.

- Huynh, 24, was stabbed in the face and chest following an altercation outside a Main Street nightclub in April 30, 2006.

- Simao provided the only testimony connecting Ponce and Tavares to a plan to kill Huynh. Simao claimed Tavares said Huynh had stabbed him at a wedding social some months earlier and Monkman was recruited to kill him.

- Keyser said Simao’s version of events changed every time he told it, from his first statement to police a year after the killing, to his testimony at a preliminary hearing and his testimony at trial.

- She said Simao “lied outright” when he denied ever selling marijuana, despite wiretap evidence suggesting otherwise.

- “While those lies do not involve the specifics of his testimony in this case, they should give you cause for concern because if he would lie on that issue, could he be lying on other matters?” Keyser said.

- Simao’s testimony led prosecutors to consider charging him with perjury.

- He told jurors he had no reason to lie but also claimed police threatened him with arrest if he did not co-operate.

- Simao’s testimony was interrupted by frequent bouts of vomiting, which he blamed on irritable bowel syndrome and acid reflux.

- “He has some medical issues that lead to (vomiting) but sometimes it appeared that his illness flared up when cross-examination of his testimony was particularly intense,” Keyser said.

Three men convicted in nightclub murder
- A jury has convicted three men in the fatal stabbing of Minh Hong Huynh outside a Main Street nightclub nearly four years ago.
- Jurors convicted 38-year-old Glen Sherman Monkman of second-degree murder and co-accused Carlos Tavares, 30, and Norris Ponce, 31, of manslaughter.
- Jurors began their deliberations Thursday afternoon and reached a verdict shortly after 1 p.m. Friday.
- All three accused appeared red-eyed and tense as they awaited the arrival of the jury.
- Monkman offered a resigned shrug when he heard the verdict. He admitted stabbing Huynh but argued he was guilty of manslaughter, not murder.
- The victim was high on cocaine and on steroids according to his girlfriend when he started picking fights with several people outside the nightclub, including a man believed to be Ponce. Witnesses said that’s when Monkman intervened and stabbed Huynh.
- All three accused started the trial seven weeks ago charged with first-degree murder. Last week after the Crown closed its case, Justice Brenda Keyser ruled Tavares and Ponce were to face the reduced charge of second-degree murder.
- The 3 accused will likely be seen at a later date at the Manitoba Court of Appeal
- The verdict suggests jurors accepted much of star Crown witness Danny Simao’s testimony, despite warnings from Keyser that his evidence was to be examined with extreme caution.
- David Guttman, Tavares’ lawyer, said none of Simao’s evidence was corroborated by witnesses at the murder scene.
- “He’s a classic dirtbag. He will say whatever he thinks he needs to say.”
- The Crown alleged Monkman stabbed Huynh with the support of Tavares and Ponce, believing Huynh was responsible for stabbing Tavares at a wedding social.
- Simao, Tavares’ cousin, spent several hours prior to the killing drinking with the three accused at a comedy club and Osborne Village bar. Simao testified the three accused plotted Huynh’s death after learning of his presence at Club Desire.
- Simao testified he was in line at a hot dog cart outside the nightclub when he saw Monkman and Ponce confront Huynh and appear to punch him.
- He was frequently ill on the witness stand, resulting in frequent and lengthy adjournments. Simao said he suffers from irritable bowel syndrome and acid reflux and is prone to vomiting when under stress.
- In their closing submissions to jurors, defence lawyers painted Simao as a “fabricator” who lied on the witness stand to protect his own interests.
- The men will be sentenced March 4. Monkman is facing a mandatory sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for at least 10 years and but could also be as much as 25 years.
- It`s hard to say how Ponce and Tavares will be sentenced, but I sure hope they are sentenced lightly, as they should not have been convicted at all in my opinion.  

I don`t agree with the verdicts but you can read about that in my previous post. I also think that anyone who is considered to be a party to an offence, as is aiding or abetting, should not be charged with murder or manslaughter itself, because they did not do the act. I feel that their should be a separate offence for these type of people to be charged with, that is less serious.