Mountie forgives murderer

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This article was published 13/03/2009 (6296 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SASKATOON — RCMP Const. Michelle Knopp stood in court looking at the man who murdered her two colleagues and tried to kill her, and forgave him.

Deep in depression after her friends died, Knopp said she blamed herself for the bloody gun battle that followed a wild high-speed chase on the dusty back roads of rural Saskatchewan.

But she now only blames Curt Dagenais. And she must forgive in order to heal, she said.

"I have decided to forgive you, Curt," Knopp said Thursday, her hands shaking as she read aloud her victim impact statement.

"I am forgiving you so that I will no longer hold this hatred against you."

A jury convicted Dagenais on two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder, after about 2 1/2 hours of deliberations stretched over two days.

A conviction of first-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence with no chance at parole for 25 years. Lawyers are to argue Friday on sentencing for the attempted murder conviction.

Dagenais, 44, had admitted during the three-week trial that he shot the RCMP constables in 2006 but claimed it was self-defence.

He testified the three officers shot at him first and he blindly returned fire to save his own life. He said it was an accident he shot both Marc Bourdages, 29, and Robin Cameron, 26, in the head. Knopp was also struck by bullet fragments that are still embedded in her ear, arm and torso.

The Crown argued it was Dagenais who surprised the RCMP with gunfire and then lied in court to get away with murder.

A joyous cry went up as the verdict was read in court. Dagenais’ father, however, was bent over in his seat, a friend by his side for support. Dagenais himself showed no emotion and sat stiffly in the prisoner’s box with his arms folded as Knopp and several family members of the slain officers stood up to read their letters.

Cameron’s lanky teenage daughter, Shayne, said she knew when her mother became a Mountie she was risking her life at work every day. She just never thought her mother would actually die.

"My whole world went black," the teen told Dagenais. "You took so much away from me. So much I can never get back."

Outside the courtroom, Robin Cameron’s father, Howard, said he was happy about the verdict and proud of his daughter and her partner, who died in the line of duty.

But he reminded everyone that the outcome doesn’t change anything. "It could have been easily prevented if this person would have stopped and taken account for his actions," said Cameron, a former RCMP officer himself. "But, no, our daughter had to give her life … This guilty verdict isn’t going to bring my daughter back."

— The Canadian Press