Appeal denied for American serving life sentence for killing Windsor mother

Autumn Taggart is shown in this handout photo from Windsor Police Service.

Warning: this article contains graphic details that readers may find disturbing.

Jitesh Bhogal was convicted of first-degree murder in December 2021 for killing Autumn Taggart.

The 31-year-old was killed in the bedroom of her University Avenue apartment on June 10, 2018.

Court learned Bhogal scaled the wall of her building and broke into her apartment, before suffocating her to death.

The jury also found Bhogal sexually assaulted Taggart. They were complete strangers.

During the seven-week jury trial, Bhogal said he consumed cocaine that night and denied sexually assaulting Taggart.

He said he covered her mouth to quiet her from screaming.

Court learned her young son was in the other room at the time of her murder.

Bhogal’s appellate lawyer James Lockyer argued Justice Renee Pomerance didn’t ask the jury to consider “extreme intoxication akin to automatism.”

Lockyer also accused the crown attorneys and the judge of improperly instructing the jury on expert evidence by a pathologist.

Dr. Elena Tugaleva testified about how long it would take for a person to die after their airway is blocked.

Three judges with the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled against the appeal yesterday, in part, because the Bhogals lawyer did not object to the charge to the jury nor to the expert evidence summary during the trial in Windsor.

Bhogal is eligible to apply for parole in 2046.