Serial killer's teen helper sees appeal denied
Posted by Joe on December 07 2005 6:25 PM
Three Ontario Court of Appeal judges have ruled a 16-year-old boy should be jailed for helping Mississauga pedophile and serial killer Douglas Moore dispose of the bodies of two of his victims and cover up the murders.
This afternoon, the judges quashed the teen's appeal of the six-month jail sentence he received from Justice Minoo Khoorshed in the summer.
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Three Ontario Court of Appeal judges have ruled a 16-year-old boy should be jailed for helping Mississauga pedophile and serial killer Douglas Moore dispose of the bodies of two of his victims and cover up the murders.
This afternoon, the judges quashed the teen's appeal of the six-month jail sentence he received from Justice Minoo Khoorshed in the summer.
The panel of judges, who heard arguments from the teen's lawyer, Charlie Waite, announced today the appeal "must be dismissed."
The judges will provide their reasons for the dismissal at a later date.
The teen is currently in custody serving the second month of his sentence after being found guilty on two counts of accessory to murder after the fact in the deaths of Meadowvale resident Robert Grewal, 22, and his friend Joseph Manchisi, 20, of Milton, back in November of 2003.
In October, Khoorshed issued a sentence of six months in "secure custody," four to be served in a youth jail facility, with the remaining two months to be served under community supervision.
But, Waite argued, his client was under the influence of Moore and that a jail term is too harsh. The teen helped Moore only because he was scared and confused, said Waite.
Crown attorney Feroza Bhabha said while the teen was under the influence of Moore, he still showed "some initiative" in the crimes.
"He disposed of the blade used to dismember the bodies without any instruction to do so from Moore," she said.
The failed appeal was welcome news to the Grewal family.
"This boy deserves to be punished for what he has done, and letting him out of jail early would have been a travesty," said Grewal's uncle, Harpal Singh Grewal. "Nothing will bring my nephew back, but by letting this boy out of jail early would have been encouragement for him to continue committing horrible crimes."
Court heard throughout the course of the teen's highly-publicized trial that after 36-year-old Moore killed both men in the garage of his Copenhagen Rd. townhouse, the teen helped get rid of evidence. He drove with Moore to Quebec to help bury the bodies in the woods.
The teen admitted he held the dismembered heads of both men inside a car wash as Moore washed the blood off.
The teen testified he met Moore through a school friend and considered him a "father figure."
The teen testified he helped Moore dig separate holes near train tracks, possibly in the Cornwall area, and then buried the slain men's heads and hands. But, he insists he doesn't know the burial site.
Moore, a convicted pedophile, committed suicide in a jail cell last year while awaiting trial on charges he sexually assaulted young boys.
The judge heard that Moore killed Grewal and Manchisi because he believed the two men had stolen drugs and money from his home.
In fact, it was the teen who had stolen from Moore.
Bhabha said Friday the teen should serve his full sentence.
"He showed a callous disregard for the victims' families ... spent the money he stole from Moore on his friends, knowing full well his story caused Moore to take their lives," she said. "The horrific impact of his participation continues for the families. They have not been able to find all the remains."
Peel Regional Police believe Moore also killed 15-year-old Meadowvale resident Rene Charlebois, but the teen wasn't charged in connection with Charlebois' death.