Convicted killer thanks court, jury for ‘wrongful decision,’ insists he is innocent in 2020 slaying

A Winnipeg man convicted of first-degree murder in a case that hinged on the evidence of a one-time co-accused continued to proclaim his innocence as he was sentenced Friday to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.

“I would like to thank the court for their time and also the jury for their wrongful decision, and even though it’s not in my favour, that does not discourage me,” 43-year-old Aaron Mousseau Abigosis told court, reading from a small slip of paper.

A jury found Abigosis guilty last winter in the unprovoked slaying of 56-year-old Bud Paul, a man he had met just days earlier.

Paul’s naked, decomposed remains were discovered Aug. 11, 2020, in a stand of willows, off a dead-end road on the northern edge of Roseau River First Nation, the home reserve of Janine Atkinson, who was granted immunity from prosecution in return for her testimony against Abigosis.

“This is one of the most challenging obstacles I have ever had to face,” Abigosis said. “Still, I’m sorry for the Paul family and friends, I’m sorry they think I did this. I’m not guilty and will fight until I am released.”

Prosecutors alleged Abigosis killed Paul on Aug. 3. Paul was beaten and slashed in the abdomen with what prosecutors described as a brush axe.

Paul’s burned-out vehicle was found on Queen Street, near Polo Park mall, on Aug. 10.

Atkinson testified she met Paul over Facebook in mid-July 2020 and then in person for the first time roughly two weeks later.

“He was looking for companionship,” she told jurors. “We would just drive around, hang out.”

On July 31, Atkinson and Abigosis, whom she had met earlier that summer, spent the night with Paul, watching movies at his Hespeler Avenue apartment.

The next morning, Paul agreed to drive Abigosis and Atkinson to Pine Creek First Nation, where Abigosis wanted to pick up a cheque from his mother, Atkinson told court.

Atkinson said they stopped at Long Plain First Nation, near Portage la Prairie, where Abigosis visited a few houses “to get high.”

By 4:45 p.m., the trio was in Neepawa, where security cameras captured Atkinson purchasing a bottle of vodka at a liquor store. Security video showed Abigosis behind the wheel and Paul in the backseat when they drove out of the parking lot.

Atkinson said she had been using cocaine during the road trip and described herself at times being “really intoxicated.”

Abigosis drove to Dauphin where he “went to a couple of places” and visited his sister before driving on to Pine Creek, Atkinson said. There, Abigosis went to his mother’s house and picked up his cheque, while Paul waited in the car.

The trio left Pine Creek, Atkinson testified, and headed toward Dauphin on a dirt road when Abigosis stopped the car and pulled Paul out of the backseat.

Abigosis “started fighting (Paul)… he f—-ing football-kicked him in the balls” and punched him in the face, she said.

Atkinson said she heard Abigosis tell Paul “something about being a john and picking up chicks.”

At Abigosis’s direction, Atkinson took the wheel and the group continued to Dauphin, where they spent two nights at the home of Abigosis’s sister, before driving back to Winnipeg.

As they drove past Health Sciences Centre, Atkinson said she urged Abigosis to stop and drop Paul off. Abigosis refused.

“(Police) cruisers were sitting in emergency,” she said. “He didn’t want to stop there: two native people showing up with a badly injured white man.”

They made a few more stops, Atkinson testified, before Abigosis said to her: “Since you went to my rez, let’s go to your rez.”

The group continued to Roseau River when they pulled over and Abigosis forced Paul to snort fentanyl, Atkinson said.

Jurors heard an autopsy found evidence of cocaine in Paul’s system, but no fentanyl.

Atkinson told Abigosis what back roads to take to avoid security on the reserve which, at the time, was under pandemic lockdown conditions. They drove down a dead-end road and pulled over. When Abigosis asked her where they should take Paul, she pointed to the bush.

It was Abigosis’s intention to “take (Paul) there to murder him,” Atkinson said. “I know what he was trying to do.”

She said Paul was unconscious as Abigosis bound him with rope and took him to the bush. She said Abigosis was carrying a machete when he returned to the car.

Abigosis changed his clothes, Atkinson testified, got back behind the wheel and drove back to Winnipeg.

Jurors heard Atkinson used Paul’s bank card after he was dead to withdraw more than $1,000 from his account.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca