Reservists claimed right to kill 'bums,' court hears
Shannon Kari , Canwest News Service
Published: Wednesday, April 02, 2008
TORONTO - The key prosecution witness in the trial of three Canadian Forces reservists accused of fatally beating a homeless man testified Wednesday that two of the defendants were enraged and claimed to have the right to kill "bums" and "drug addicts" while their colleague appeared to be a reluctant participant.
"I was told we were all useless pieces of skin," said Valerie Valen, who tried to intervene and stop the brutal attack against Paul Croutch, a 59-year-old homeless man who was killed on August 31, 2005 while trying to sleep on a park bench in downtown Toronto.
Jeffrey Hall, 24; Mountaz Ibrahim, 25 and Brian Deganis, 23, are all charged with second-degree murder and assault causing bodily harm for allegedly beating Valen.
The defendants, who were members of the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada which has its headquarters in an armoury in the park where Croutch was beaten, have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Valen was returning to visit a friend at a nearby residential shelter when she saw the attack
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