Was it murder or was it suicide?

Was it murder or was it suicide?

Conflicting stories heard on fatal fall 

THE Crown says it was murder. The defence claims it was suicide.

Details are emerging publicly for the first time about the mysterious January 2009 death of a young Winnipeg woman who fell from the 11th-floor balcony of a downtown apartment.

Alinda Lahteenmaki, 23, was killed instantly after plunging from the Manitoba Housing apartment block at 375 Assiniboine Ave. Police quickly charged her former boyfriend, Mario Trunzo, with second-degree murder after consulting with justice officials.

Trunzo, 47, has been in custody ever since while his case moves slowly through the courts. He applied for bail earlier this month but was denied last Friday. Queen's Bench Justice Brenda Keyser cited the allegations against him, plus a history of untreated drug and alcohol issues, as grounds for keeping him behind bars.

"The facts as alleged by the Crown are horrific," said Keyser.

There was no publication ban on the proceedings. None of the allegations has been proven and Trunzo is presumed innocent.

There is no dispute Trunzo and his much younger girlfriend had spent the evening drinking and doing drugs with several other friends, court was told. It is also conceded the pair began arguing. However, what happened next is very much in dispute.

A man who was partying in the same suite has given a police statement, claiming Trunzo grabbed Lahteenmaki and forced her towards the open window. He allegedly lifted her off the ground and dangled her feet out the window. "She was half in and half out and he says 'You want to die b h, go ahead and die.' She kept saying 'no, no' and I didn't see her head anymore," the witness claims. He said Trunzo eventually started yelling for help, only to let Lahteenmaki slip from his grasp.

"He said, 'Die b h' and let go," the witness told police. Another woman who was at the gathering claims Lahteenmaki was screaming for help, pleading with Trunzo to "Don't let go" in the seconds before she fell.

Trunzo tells a much different story, claiming his girlfriend took her own life. Defence lawyer Darren Sawchuk told court Lahteenmaki had made comments earlier in the night about killing herself by jumping out the window and even wrote a suicide note that was seized by police. He also attacked the witnesses who spoke with police, saying they were extremely intoxicated and gave conflicting statements that changed over time.

Keyser admitted there are potential problems with the witnesses but said it wasn't her job to decide guilt or innocence. Instead, she said, there was a "serious risk of re-involvement" in criminal activity if Trunzo was released. Trunzo had put forward a bail plan that included living with his elderly parents, who would post a substantial amount of money as a surety. He also gave a letter to the court from the owner of a local trucking company, who promised him full-time work if released from custody.

"He has many positive attributes, which would motivate me to give him employment. He has great interpersonal skills and qualities, he is a very productive, capable and dedicated, he has a great work ethic. He would be a tremendous asset to my company," Tony Cuda, the president of Tec Trucking Services, wrote in a letter.

Trunzo is set to begin his preliminary hearing on Sept. 27.

This article is very well written and I like how a proportionate amount of space is provided to explain Crown and Defence's arguments. 

Although this man has yet to go to trial, I am leaning towards the defence's theory of suicide. This woman made previous comments and wrote a note and witnesses were intoxicated and gave conflicting stories, which is a problem. 

I feel that this man should have been released on bail. He had set up a plan to get full time work and live with his elderly parents. In the community, he would have a better opportunity to address his drug and alcohol issues. Because of these reasons, I feel he should have been released. The Judge never stated whether he had a previous record or not. Innocent until proven guilty right?  

Bail denied for man accused in deadly fall

Bail denied for man accused in deadly fall

WINNIPEG - A Winnipeg man accused of dropping his girlfriend to her death out an 11th-floor apartment window will remain behind bars until he goes on trial.

Mario Trunzo, 47, wanted to get out of jail so he could go live with his elderly parents and start working a local trucking job. But Queen’s Bench Justice Brenda Keyser refused, saying the risk was too high.

Trunzo has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and has been in custody since his arrest on Jan. 30, 2009.

Alinda Lahteenmaki, 23, died instantly after plunging from the Manitoba Housing apartment block at 375 Assiniboine Ave.  The Crown claims Trunzo and Lahteenmaki got into a heated argument following a night of drinking and doing drugs. He allegedly pushed her towards the open window, picked her up and dangled her over the edge.

One witness claims Lahteenmaki screamed for help and yelled "Don’t let go." Trunzo allegedly told her "Die b----h" before dropping her.

Trunzo denies the allegations and claims Lahteenmaki threw herself out the window to commit suicide. Defence lawyer Darren Sawchuk told court she had made comments earlier in the night about killing herself in such a fashion and even wrote a suicide note that was seized by police.

Trunzo is set to begin his preliminary hearing on Sept. 27. None of the allegations have been proven and he is presumed innocent.

This article is good for the most part but I am left wondering what factors led the Judge to believe that he was too high a risk...? This information should have been included. 

Without it, I cannot make an informed decision one way or the other about whether I believe this was the right or wrong decision to deny him bail.  

Murder suspect was held in prison and denied bail

Murder suspest was held in prison, court determined

The man accused of killing a Winnipeg father last weekend was released from jail in January after the Crown stayed domestic assault charges against him.

Darren James Hall, 23, was arrested Saturday and charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of 44-year-old Garth Isfeld, who was killed during a party at his North Kildonan home early Saturday morning.

According to court documents, Hall was being held on charges of assault with a weapon at Milner Ridge Correctional Centre until he had the charge stayed Jan. 19. The charge relates to an incident that occurred Nov. 19 at his girlfriend’s home on Maryland Street.

According to the transcript of a bail hearing that occurred shortly after the incident, Hall — who was on probation for a previous charge at the time — apparently arrived at the home around 2 a.m. to learn his brother had allegedly kissed his girlfriend, whom he’d been dating about two months. The Crown alleged at the time that Hall pushed, grabbed, punched, and kicked her and slapped her across the face with a 15-inch plastic shoehorn. The Crown alleged the attack lasted four hours.

Hall was denied bail — the judge cited his history of disobeying court orders — and was set to go to trial on the charges April 28.

However, in mid-January, his girlfriend filed a hand-written letter recanting her story, claiming she and Hall had consumed so much alcohol and so many drugs that night “we weren’t ourselfs (sic).”

A spokeswoman for Manitoba Justice said the Crown dropped the charges shortly thereafter because “there was insufficient evidence to make conviction a likelihood” but did not provide any further detail.

So what did the defence allege? This article is biased as it only mentions the Crown's allegations which makes it assume that this man is guilty. People seem to forget about innocent until proven guilty. 

I do agree with the decision of denying bail though, as he has a record of disobeying court orders. 

No bail despite suicide note, as man dangled girlfriend out of window

No bail despite suicide note

Dangled girlfriend out window as both called for help: witnesses

A Winnipeg man accused of dangling his girlfriend out an 11-storey window and letting her plunge to her death has been denied bail.

Mario Trunzo, 47, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of 23-year-old Alinda Lahteenmaki.

Trunzo has remained in custody since his Jan. 30, 2009 arrest.

“The facts as alleged by the Crown are horrific,” said Justice Brenda Keyser Friday.

Keyser said Trunzo has a “long and unresolved problem with drugs” and has taken no steps to address it while in custody.

“There is a serious risk of re-involvement if he was to be released on bail,” she said.

At a bail hearing earlier this month, the Crown argued Trunzo deliberately dropped Lahteenmaki out the window. Darren Sawchuk, Trunzo’s lawyer, told court there was evidence to suggest she committed suicide, including a suicide note later found among her personal effects.

Court heard Trunzo and Lahteenmaki had been drinking and doing drugs at a Manitoba Housing apartment block located at 375 Assiniboine Ave. when they got into an argument that turned physical.

According to a police interview with the man who lived in the apartment, Trunzo grabbed Lahteenmaki and pushed her toward an open floor-to-ceiling window.

“He picked her up so she had both feet out the window,” the man said.

“She was half in and half out and he says ‘You want to die b----, go ahead and die.’ She kept saying ‘no, no’ and I didn’t see her head anymore.”

The man said Trunzo was holding the woman by her wrists when he yelled out for help because she was slipping from his grasp.

“By the time I got there he just let go, I don’t know why,” he said.

“He said “Die b----” and let go.”

A female witness told police “everything started getting out of hand after everyone got high.” The woman said Trunzo dangled Lahteenmaki out the window and then called for help to pull her back in.

“All I heard was this scream and her saying ‘Don’t let go,’ ” she said. “That was it and she was gone.”

Sawchuk argued the court could not rely on witnesses who were highly intoxicated and provided inconsistent statements to police.

A preliminary hearing is set for next fall.