Inmate chases faint hope

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This article was published 30/03/2021 (1796 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON — A man who has spent 17 years in prison for murdering a Brandon woman and burying her in another person’s grave was back in court Monday, asking to be allowed to apply for parole under the so-called “faint hope clause.”

Michael Bridges was convicted in 2005 of first-degree murder in the April 2002 slaying of 18-year-old Erin Chorney.

He was sentenced to spend 25 years in prison without parole, but is applying to be allowed to ask for early release under a since-repealed section of the Criminal Code.

Monday marked the first day of Bridges’ hearing at the Court of Queen’s Bench. It will determine whether he is allowed to apply for parole after serving 15 years of his sentence, Justice John Menzies said in his opening statement to the jury.

The hearing is not a trial, and doesn’t determine whether Bridges will receive parole, only whether he can apply.

Bridges appeared in court wearing a face mask, glasses and a blue dress shirt. He sat in the accused’s box flanked by two Manitoba sheriff’s officers.

Nine women and three men sit on the jury.

In the defence’s opening statement, lawyer Ryan Amy said the jury will hear from a wide variety of people about the time Bridges has so far spent in jail and the progress he has made.

“Mr. Bridges committed a reprehensible crime against a young woman, Erin Chorney,” Amy said.

“You will be provided information about this crime, about the cover-up, and what has happened since. You will hear about the transition of a young, ego-centric, callous, 21-year-old who has grown into an insightful, remorseful 40-year-old model prisoner.”

Crown attorney Joel Myskiw said Bridges walked into the courtroom Monday a convicted murderer and he will leave the hearing the same way.

“Erin Chorney is not the only victim here. Erin’s entire family was victimized by what Michael (Bridges) did,” Myskiw said.

Chorney was killed by Bridges in April 2002, after a dispute over assault charges she had pressed against him, according to an agreed statement of facts read by Crown attorney Mark Lafreniere.

Chorney and Bridges were in a romantic relationship when she was killed.

She was missing for almost two years before her body was found in 2004 on information obtained during a so-called “Mr. Big” sting operation by the RCMP.

It started with an undercover officer telling Bridges he had won tickets to a Calgary Flames hockey game in Calgary, where he was introduced to another officer posing as a member of a criminal organization.

The undercover officer struck up a friendship with Bridges and started to gain his trust, according to the agreed statement of facts.

He introduced Bridges to the fake criminal operation, and Bridges slowly became more deeply involved over the course of several months in 2003 and 2004.

The officer told Bridges he would have to speak to “the boss” of the operation to fully join — and admit to any past crimes before being allowed in.

In early 2004, Bridges admitted on video he had killed Chorney, the Crown told the court. The confession was before a staged meeting with the “boss” in an upscale hotel room, video of which was played in court.

In the confession, Bridges said he choked her for a “minute or two,” the Crown said.

“The applicant (Bridges) knew this time he was going to jail for sure… The applicant felt his life would be ruined,” Lafreniere said.

Bridges cut the cord off a hair dryer and used it to strangle Chorney for another minute, Lafreniere said. She was still breathing, so he dragged her body to a full bathtub and put her head underwater for approximately 20 minutes.

The next day, Bridges wrapped the body in a bedsheet and buried Chorney in a grave at Brandon Municipal Cemetery.

The faint hope clause was repealed in December 2011, but Bridges can still apply under it as he was convicted before its removal.

The hearing is scheduled to continue Tuesday.

— Brandon Sun