Pregnant woman’s killers offer regrets

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This article was published 10/10/2009 (6067 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A pregnant Winnipeg woman was still breathing and struggling to survive when three young men stuck her battered body in a deep snowbank and covered her with rocks.

"They buried her alive," Crown attorney Mark Kantor told court Friday as he revealed new details about the February 2007 killing of Roxanne Fernando and her unborn baby.

Nathanael Plourde and Jose Toruno were both handed life sentences in prison for a killing described as one of the worst in the city’s history. Fernando, 24, was lured to the outskirts of Winnipeg on the pretext of a Valentine’s Day date, then beaten with a wrench, stuffed in a car trunk, bludgeoned with a broken hockey stick and hidden on the outskirts of the city. An autopsy revealed she suffered extensive head trauma and died of massive blood loss.

"This murder was coldly conceived and deliberately executed," Queen’s Bench Justice Glenn Joyal said.

Plourde, 21, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and will not be eligible for parole for 25 years. Toruno, 21, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and must serve at least 15 years until he can apply for release. A 17-year-old co-accused pleaded guilty to first-degree murder last year and was given the maximum youth sentence of six years in prison and four years of probation.

Fernando was targeted for death only weeks after discovering she was pregnant with Plourde’s child, the judge was told. Kantor said Fernando wanted to have a long-term relationship with Plourde, who didn’t return her feelings and hatched a plot to kill her when she refused to leave him alone.

Plourde set up a date on Feb. 15 and picked up Fernando, who expected to exchange gifts with him. She brought a heart-shaped box of chocolates and a stuffed teddy bear. She got into Plourde’s vehicle, unaware that the youth was hiding under a blanket in the back seat. The pair had earlier bought supplies including leather gloves and rolls of packing tape.

Fernando was driven to Little Mountain Park on the northwestern edge of the city after being told a "surprise" was waiting there for her. The youth sprang out from under the blanket and, together with Plourde, began attacking Fernando at the isolated park. Fernando was hit with a wrench up to 20 times, bound with tape and wrapped in a blanket before being stuffed in the trunk of the car. The attackers thought she was dead.

"But after driving off, they heard her moaning and moving," Kantor said Friday. Panic set in and a third accused — Toruno — was picked up and paid $120 to assist in Fernando’s killing. The money had been taken out of Fernando’s purse by the youth as she lay in the trunk.

Fernando was taken to a remote area near Mollard Road and Ritchie Street in northwest Winnipeg and repeatedly beaten by Toruno with a broken hockey stick. Her body was then placed in a snow-filled ditch.

"She was subjected to a prolonged, horrific suffering. (The killers’) had a callous disregard for human life," Kantor said.

Plourde was in tears Friday as he spoke to Fernando’s family. "I’m sorry to you, Roxanne’s mother and father, who lost a daughter. I’m sorry to you, Roxanne’s siblings, who lost a sister. I regret everything I did and take full responsibility for my actions," he said.

Toruno’s father is a local minister who wrote a letter read aloud by defence lawyer Greg Brodsky. The man said he is praying for his son, Fernando and her family. "I always teach my children to respect others, as the Bible instructs. Jose is not a bad kid. He made a mistake. Everybody does," he said.

"I’ve been waiting a long time for this day to come so I can apologize to you," Toruno said Friday. "I can’t imagine how you feel. I hope that one day you take the time to forgive me. These words are coming from my heart. God bless you."

Joyal questioned the sincerity of the two killers, noting they left the body and then went to McDonald’s for a bite to eat, stopped at Safeway for some cleaning supplies for the vehicle and then text-messaged one of Fernando’s friends, using her cellphone, indicating all was well. Toruno even took the chocolates and stuffed animal that Fernando had brought for Plourde and gave them to his girlfriend.

"You knew when you left she was still alive. You knew these were the gifts of a woman you had just helped murder," Joyal said.

www.mikeoncrime.com

 

The Following Victim Impact Statements Were Presented At The Sentencing Hearing For Roxanne Fernando’s Two Killers.

ELISA FERNANDO, mother of Roxanne Fernando

"When a husband loses his wife or when a wife loses her husband we call them widows. When a child loses his parents we say they are orphans. But when a mother loses a child there is nothing because no word in this life can possibly define such loss and pain.

My life will never be the same again. I feel as if I have died with her too. One will never know until it happens to them. I have gone through a tough life being poor and raised five children on my own. I didn’t have a good life until my daughter sponsored me and "Apple" to live with her here in Canada. I thought it would be the beginning of a new and good life and not the end of it.

I didn’t have the chance to say good-bye. She looked so happy when she left the house that night, all dolled up and carrying a Valentine present that we wrapped together. I jokingly asked if I can have one of the presents she had.

I thought that was going to be one of the happiest days of my daughter’s life. She even asked me to look out the window to see if I could see the car that was waiting for her outside. I said I could only see the headlights. I didn’t know that would be the last time I was going to see and talk to my daughter.

I feel so betrayed by this and regret that I let her go out that night. She had no idea she was in danger. I have so much regret and always the question of ‘what if’?’. My feelings of hurting are beyond imagination. I could write and speak about being hurt but it will never end."

ANA MARIA DELUZ, sister of Roxanne Fernando

"I remember when she was born. It was a very special date because I was celebrating my birthday. I was with my aunt, cousins and brothers celebrating when I found out my mom had given birth to a healthy baby girl. It made by birthday extra special because I found out I had a baby sister. I will never ever forget that day because that’s how my life of being a big sister began.

I became a second mother to her. I took her under my wing, took care of her from the very beginning since our mother had to work a lot. I have so many loving memories of her from registering her first grade of school until graduating from elementary. I watched her grow up and that became part of my life and now that she’s gone, it’s like losing a part of myself.

I miss her so much that I’m still hoping one day she’ll walk through the door with a big beautiful smile on her face. She was the kind of person that would brighten up the house, always dancing and singing. She was a very caring person, too, always ready to lend a helping hand to those she loved, especially her family back home which she supported financially.

I never thought I would be writing this statement. There are absolutely no words to describe how it feels when someone you truly love is unjustly taken away in an instant. I am not who I used to be and probably never will. There is a big hole in my heart, and my family’s heart.

I am now left with only memories of my sister and now words to adequately describe the depths of my sorrow. I not only lost a sister but an irreplaceable friend. We knew each other like no one else does and had an understanding that only sisters can provide each other.

I have this feeling of regret because I brought her to Canada. I remember crying in front of a judge for permission for her to be able to live here so that she could have a better life. Now I am crying in front of a judge because her life was taken."