OTTAWA, CANADA — A 35-year-old immigrant from Ethiopia who is accused of fatally stabbing a mother of a baby girl during a domestic dispute in a Riverside Drive apartment building appeared briefly in an Ottawa courtroom Monday before being ordered not to communicate with an 18-month-old child or another woman.
Tamrat Gebre, a short, stocky and balding man who stared intently from the prisoner’s box — where he stood with his arms crossed, wearing blue jail-issued coveralls — made his first appearance in court charged with second-degree murder in the Saturday killing of Aster Kassa.
Kassa, who witnesses said was seen clutching a baby girl only a short time before Kassa’s killing, was found dead after police were called to the 24-storey building at 1541 Riverside Drive following a 911 call from someone who does not live in the building.
Witnesses said a police officer held the child under the shade of a tree as her mother’s death was investigated. Police could not say whether Gebre was the father of the baby, but said Kassa and the accused were in a relationship.
According to the court information, Gebre did not live with Kassa, instead residing in an apartment on MacLaren Street.
A Crown prosecutor asked for the no-communication order with the child, who she said was a year-and-a-half old, and another woman. Gebere nodded his head when asked if he understood the condition not to communicate with the two.
Gebere, who was shackled, leaned against the front of the wooden prisoner’s box until a special constable told him not to. He then crossed his arms and stood silently, speaking quietly with his lawyer before being led back into custody pending his next court appearance by video July 26.
Lawyer Samir Adam, who appeared on Gebere’s behalf, said he had spoken to Gebere prior to his court appearance. However, he couldn’t offer any details of the accused’s relationship with the victim and said it was too early to comment on the case.
“It’s a serious situation,” said Adam, who appeared on behalf of Gebere’s lawyer, Stuart Konyer.
– By Andrew Seymour, The Ottawa Citizen
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FORUM | 6 Comments
Greed, ego and jealousy are the main source of this type of killing and this is the behavior of some Ethiopian men which put the country which is 3000 years old way behind the world.
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July 19th, 2010 at 5:13 PM
#1 These things happen all over the world. It is human nature. Stop your bafoonish idea that 3000 years behind bla–bla. You are so f–n quick to curse that poor country.
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July 19th, 2010 at 8:03 PM
This guy, whom I know well is very stupied. He has to be life in prison for whht he did. God bless the victim and her little kid
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July 20th, 2010 at 2:48 AM
Waw, this is a very sad story. May God bless the victim and her family.
By the way, when do our Ethiopian men learn a lesson, that killing is actually a sin!? When do they learn civilization?
Shame on you Ethiopian men, whom you think of your shoulder than your mind!!
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July 20th, 2010 at 11:00 PM
Ethiopian people need treatment . The wars that went on within Ethiopians for the last 3000 years left the people seriously in need of treatment behaviorial and relationship wise.
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July 22nd, 2010 at 6:48 AM
Suzi if you are not Ethiopian get off this case, your talk about 3000 years war is not true what about 3000 years not colonized be white people like ant where in the world.
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July 27th, 2010 at 5:08 PM