A man who has already been convicted of three murders in the Ottawa area has been handed two more life sentences for the attempted murder and robbery of a 101-year-old war veteran.
Ian Bush was sentenced Wednesday for robbing and trying to kill Ernest Coté in December, 2014.
Bush received one life sentence for the attempted murder and another for the robbery. He has no chance of parole for 10 years. The sentence is particularly high for attempted murder, but Justice Robert Beaudoin said it was clear Bush intended his victim to die that day.
"Protection of the public is the paramount concern in this case,” Beaudoin said in his decision. “…His degree of blameworthiness and dangerousness can only be regarded as high."
Beaudoin painted Coté a hero for his service in the Second World War, for his service in the government, and especially for his service in helping to nab a killer before he could kill again.
Coté was alone in his apartment when Bush entered his unit, claiming to be a city worker. When Coté refused to hand over money, Bush tied Coté up and wrapped his head with a plastic bag and secured it with duct tape. He then left him for dead after stealing his wallet.
Coté was able to wriggle free and called 911.
The evidence on the duct tape used to bind Coté would play a key role in linking Bush to the 2007 murders of Alban Garon, his wife Raymonde, and their neighbour Marie-Claire Beniskos. All had been hog-tied and smothered with plastic bags over their heads.
Bush was convicted in all their murders.
Outside of court Wednesday, Crown prosecutor James Cavanagh expressed praise for Coté’s role in Bush’s eventual arrest.
“Every police officer involved in this case, every Crown, had the same feeling that we were dealing with a person of almost unbelievable presence of mind and calmness to extricate himself from the position that Bush had left him in,” Cavanagh said.
“I couldn't imagine going through that in the way he did,” said Det. Jen McLinton, the police lead investigator on the case. “It was a true testament to his heroism.”
Coté’s daughter, Denyse Coté, told reporters her father shrugged off being called a hero.
“That was my dad,” she said. “My dad was 101, he had a walker but his head was all there.”
“Of course, he did something that was heroic but he saved his own life and he did what had to be done. That's how he considered it,” she said.
Coté died a few months after his encounter with Bush -- long before he got to see his attacker convicted.
“I think he would be happy,” Denyse said, “He would be happy justice was done.”
