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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Bus-stop killer gets life

By: Mike McIntyre

Posted: 02/22/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies) | Last Modified: 02/22/2012 9:48 AM | Updates

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Bus-stop memorial shortly after killing. (BORIS.MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES)

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Darren Walsh (WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

A mentally ill Winnipeg man blames voices in his head for the cold-blooded killing of a virtual stranger in broad daylight.

Jheruel Mananghaya, 26, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Tuesday in the July 2010 shooting death of Darren Walsh, 24. He was given an automatic life sentence and must serve at least 12 years behind bars until he is eligible to apply for parole.

Walsh was shot several times in the back with a .30-calibre Winchester rifle that Mananghaya had hidden inside a weed-whacker box, court was told. Walsh was standing inside a bus shack at the corner of Main Street and Euclid Avenue with his girlfriend and her 12-year-old daughter when he was attacked on a Sunday afternoon.

Mananghaya offered an explanation for his actions, which included asking for help from "the spirits" and believing noises were coming from Walsh that prompted the slaying.

"I went to Main just before Euclid because I was hearing... noises. I remember standing there like, 'What the (expletive) am I doing here?' " Mananghaya told police after the slaying. "I had a gold RCMP gun and maybe once he sees it, he'll get scared. But the hammer on the gun was cocked and I shot it off. He was kneeling in the bus shack and he said, 'Oh (expletive)' when he seen me."

Mananghaya and Walsh worked together for a short time at a local mattress company but didn't associate with each other and shared no history, court was told. Mananghaya had just got off a bus, carrying the concealed firearm, when he spotted Walsh and opened fire. He yelled out: "Why are you talking (expletive) about me" as he shot the victim, court was told. Mananghaya then tried to flee but was chased down by two witnesses and held for police.

Defence lawyer Gerri Wiebe said Tuesday her client has a mental illness that includes hearing voices and has also battled addiction issues. He was fired from his job about a year before the killing after getting caught drinking on the job. He also tried to commit suicide after his arrest, but was found fit to stand trial after a court-ordered psychological examination. That took away the possibility of seeking a not-criminally-responsible finding, which would have landed Mananghaya in a mental hospital instead of prison.

Walsh's family members read emotional victim-impact statements in court Tuesday morning.

"I've always told my children to forgive. My God, (to forgive Mananghaya) will take a lifetime," said the victim's mother, Nancy Goulet. She described her son as a hard-working, friendly young man with his life ahead of him. She criticized the justice system, noting Mananghaya was no stranger to police and was under a firearms ban at the time of the killing.

"I feel the city has failed my family. I feel like I have been failed by the system," she said. Goulet and nearly 50 other people held a candlelight vigil at the crime scene in the weeks that followed, which was also attended by Mayor Sam Katz.

"I will never see grandkids from him. I'll never see him again at the Christmas table. I only have memories of him. Thank God for that. Because of this, I've been robbed of everything but my memories," Goulet told mourners.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice Morris Kaufman said this is the type of crime that leaves everyone feeling unsafe.

www.mikeoncrime.com

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 22, 2012 B2

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Updated on Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 9:48 AM CST: adds colour photo

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