APTN National News
A jury found an Ottawa man guilty of murdering a Cree mother in August 2010 Wednesday.
Adrian Daou, 24, was convicted of the first-degree murder of Jennifer Stewart, 36, after the jury deliberated for just over two days following a trial that lasted several weeks.
Justice Robert Maranger imposed a mandatory life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.
Maranger called Daou’s actions the night of Aug. 20, 2010 in Ottawa a “senseless, vicious murder of an innocent human being.”
Stewart’s parents attended court every day and told the court in their victim impact statement, read by Ottawa police Det. John Monette, that “nobody deserves to die like that.”
Court heard that Daou confessed to killing Stewart with an axe.
Police never recovered the murder weapon and there was no physical evidence tying Daou to the murder.
However, the jury watched as he confessed on videotape to Monette Feb. 26, 2013.
Daou’s defence lawyers said the confession was questionable and said he suffered from mental illness. The jury had the option of finding Daou not criminally responsible.
