Labossiere convicted of murder, co-accused acquitted

The Parole Board of Canada made its decision on Oct. 5, 2010 regarding Denis Labossiere.

A Winnipeg jury convicted a man on three counts of murder for killing his parents and brother, but his co-accused walked free.

The jury took less than a day to deliberate, finding Denis Jerome Labossiere guilty of killing his own family in their St. Leon home in November 2005.

The verdict came in on Feb. 1, 2012.

Labossiere's co-accused, Michael Hince, was acquitted.

"I think it's a tremendous relief," said Evan Roitenberg, who is Hince's lawyer. "He has an opportunity now to live his life."

The Crown argued Labossiere paid Hince and another man, Jeremie Toupin, $10,000 to shoot his family, before burning down their house.

The jury was not convinced Hince was one of the trigger men that night.

Roitenberg told the court that phone records show Hince was in Winnipeg calling a tow truck, when Toupin said they were south of the city.

"So being as generous as I could to the times as suggested by Mr. Toupin, Mr. Hince could not have been in Winnipeg," said Roitenberg.

There is no word yet on whether the crown is seeking an appeal of Hince's acquittal.

Legal experts say it's difficult for prosecutors to appeal a jury conviction because they have to prove the judge made an error.

"The Crown can in no way argue that the jury got it wrong," said David Deutscher, a law professor at the University of Manitoba.

Labossiere received an automatic life sentence with no eligibility for parole for 25 years.

It's not yet known whether he will appeal the conviction.

"I don't know how you can do that to your own family, obviously I'm irate," said Sean Desrochers, who is Jerome's nephew. "I don't ever want to see him again."

Before Labossiere was led from the courtroom, the judge had words for him, calling the crime monstrous and saying it's unbelievable that someone could kill their own family members.

The trial heard that Jerome was left out of his parent's will and wanted his brother Remi dead, so he could take possession of the St. Leon farm worth more than a million dollars.

Following the murders, Jerome was in a court battle with his nephew, Joel labossiere, over the estate.

Joel and his pregnant wife Magdalena were gunned down in their St. Vital home in 2008. Kelly John Clarke, who witnesses say knew Jerome, was convicted for those killings last year.

After Wednesday night's conviction, relatives say they're relieved Jerome is going to prison.

"A lot of us would have had to run for our lives," said Jerome's sister Paulette Desrochers,"This way we know he's behind bars."

-- with a report from CTV's Jeff Keele