Edmonton filmaker charged with murder

[Weiser Wonder]

This is as bad a lie as his initial statements. I'm very surprised his lawyer is letting go with the "I just lured him there to pretend kill him, then really killed him" route. Chance of success: 0%.

[fredr123]

Originally Posted by Weiser Wonder

This is as bad a lie as his initial statements. I'm very surprised his lawyer is letting go with the "I just lured him there to pretend kill him, then really killed him" route. Chance of success: 0%.

Accidentally killed him. The way he describes it, Altinger hit him first and was the first to use the pipe. Self-defence, almost even.

[Weiser Wonder]

Yeah, fair enough. About as implausible of a self defense theory as is conceivable. Although, I guess what else can he say?

[DuffMan]

Didn't he use a stun gun or taser on the first guy who got away, when he was wearing the Jason getup.

[fredr123]

Originally Posted by DuffMan

Didn't he use a stun gun or taser on the first guy who got away, when he was wearing the Jason getup.

He testified to that this morning. Twitchell said he tested it on himself earlier to make sure it didn't hurt too much. The idea, he said, was to scare the guy to generate some buzz; not to cause injury.

[CaptainCrunch]

Riiiiight

[fredr123]

Originally Posted by Weiser Wonder

Yeah, fair enough. About as implausible of a self defense theory as is conceivable. Although, I guess what else can he say?

R. v. W.(D.) and the cases that followed regarding assessing guilt based on credibility of the witnesses will come into play.

[Weiser Wonder]

I can't see him holding up to cross examination too well. Maybe their hope is the prosecution will get fearful the jury will believe Twitchell so they'll let him plead guilty to 2nd degree murder.

[The Yen Man]

This guy seriously sounds deranged. I hope they put him away for a long time. If not, they can potentially have a serial killer on the loose.

[burn_this_city]

I wish we had the death penalty for people like this. Considering he jumped another guy who got away, his self defence story is a complete joke.

[Weiser Wonder]

How does sentencing work in Canada? If he gets 1st degree murder, could they give him a sentence that would make sure he doesn't see the light of day again? Or is he free in 25 years or so?

[burn_this_city]

25 years until hes eligible for parole. I doubt he'll get out in 25, but who knows.

[Northendzone]

i guess i can get the "accidental killing" - but with what was done afterwards makes you really want to roll your eyes.......

sometimes i wish that a visit to see old sparky was an option

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Weiser Wonder

How does sentencing work in Canada? If he gets 1st degree murder, could they give him a sentence that would make sure he doesn't see the light of day again? Or is he free in 25 years or so?

I'm no expert but the crown can request a dangerous offender hearing, which means that the term of his sentence is indefinite but subject to yearly review.

The one thing that I liked about the British system is that they could sentence you to the queens pleasure, which means you don't get out.

[killer_carlson]

Ive read the blogs and testimony. His claim is that he lured the guy there (and the previous guy) to build hype for his movie and transcript by creating some sort of urban legend. He says that he got carried away and stabbed the victim during a dispute.

I don't buy it either. I'm sure plentyoffish.com must be really freaked out by this as well.

[fredr123]

It's hard to judge credibility without actually being there to see the witness testify. Everything I've read so far has come through a journalist's filter. The live blog isn't even being written from the courtroom. The journalist is listening to a live feed in the media room and typing what is said. Most of the time he can't even see the witness and can't comment on the jury or judge's reaction to what's being said.

Cross-examination set to begin this morning. We should get a pretty good sense for how well the story holds up after today.

[Weiser Wonder]

He's getting worked over. Great police work and prosecution by Edmonton authorities in this case. I'm very impressed.

[YYC in LAX]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

25 years until hes eligible for parole. I doubt he'll get out in 25, but who knows.

He'll probably get out around 17 years, then serve the remaining 8 years of the sentence on parole. Dude, it's Canada. If the guy was smart he would have killed 10 people and got his moneys worth. Serve all sentences simultaneously.

[fredr123]

Closing arguments began this morning and Twitchell's lawyer came dangerously close to referring to Ewoks and Wookies.

11:38 bengelinas:
The jury has heard that Twitchell rented the garage where Altinger was killed in his own name. When police sought the renter, they needed to make one phone call to reach Twitchell, who drove down to meet the police at the garage.

11:39 bengelinas:
"Does that make sense if he's going to commit a planned, thought-out murder?" Davison asks the jury.

11:43 bengelinas:
Would Twitchell have gone through with a planned murder if he suspected that Altinger's friends knew where Altinger was, Davison asks. "That, I submit, simply doesn't make sense."

[CaptainCrunch]

The guy thought he was Dexter, he thinks he's smarter then everyone else. He was relishing the chance to screw with the police.