HUNTER: 2023 goes into the books as a most violent year

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There was the 11-year-old boy executed along with his dad in a gangland settling of accounts.

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Big city murder greased its way into the country’s small towns, serial killers were comforted by the Correctional Service of Canada, kids pulled the trigger and were often the victims of the resulting gunfire.

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And the powers that be? They looked the other way, virtue signalled and passed the buck.

The country has been on track to shatter previous homicide records as soft-on-crime policies sent killers scurrying out of the courtroom on bail. Too frequently, in the blink of an eye, they were back for a breach — or worse.

These are some of the biggest crime stories over the past 12 months.

PAUL BERNARDO

411: The serial killer sparked a massive outpouring of rage when the braintrust at CSC determined it would be a good idea to move Bernardo from maximum security Millhaven to a medium security joint in Quebec. Bernardo and his murderous muse Karla Homolka raped and murdered three teen girls in the early 1990s. When Canadians exploded, the government and bureaucrats kicked the ball of blame back and forth. CSC commissioner Anne Kelly said she understood the rage … but he stays in our version of Club Fed.

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GILGO BEACH

411: For years, the mystery of who was killing sex workers and dumping their bodies on a Long Island beach vexed detectives. On July 14, cops announced that they had arrested creepy 59-year-old architect Rex Heuermann. He was charged in three of the 11 unsolved homicides after investigators took his DNA from a pizza box that matched genetic material left at the crime scene. So far, he has been charged with the slayings of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello.

ELNAZ HAJTAMERI

411: On Jan. 12, 2022, Elnaz Hajtameri, 37, was snatched in the dead of night from a relative’s Wasaga Beach home. She has not been seen since fleeing her Richmond Hill condo after being beaten in an underground garage. There was always more than meets the eye in the police probe: A number of the players (there were lots) were involved in stealing high-end vehicles. Elnaz knew too much. Her ex-boyfriend, Mohamad Lilo was charged with first-degree murder on Nov. 9.

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GABRIEL MAGALHAES

411: Gabriel Magalhaes, 16, had been hanging out with pals at the Eaton Centre on March 25. He was minding his own business, waiting for the subway home at Keele station when he was brutally stabbed in an unprovoked attack. The teen died later in hospital. Charged with first-degree murder is Jordan O’Brien-Tobin, 22, of no fixed address. At the time of the murder, he was wanted in his native Newfoundland and out on bail in Toronto, a beneficiary of the old revolving door.

KAROLINA HUEBNER-MAKURAT

411: Mother of two Karolina Huebner-Makurat, 44, was killed by a stray bullet while out for a walk in the Leslieville neighbourhood. An innocent bystander. Cops say three knuckleheads decided to shoot it out in the middle of the day. Damian Hudson, 32, has been charged with second-degree murder. He was out on bail at the time of the shooting, his colourful CV includes assaults, heists, firearms and failure to comply – at least six times – with a probation order. He got a 15-month jolt for stabbing a guy in 2018. The judge kindly offered: “I acknowledge his effort to better himself and grapple with his demons. I believe he has the potential to reform with professional help and family support.”

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THE BIG HEIST

411: The $20 million gold heist from Pearson International Airport on April 17 has all the makings of the next great crime caper movie. Sources told The Toronto Sun that multi-ethnic mobsters were behind the big boost. No arrests. Fast forward to two weeks ago in Montreal. During a dope and firearms raid, cops stumbled across a “large quantity of gold” and confiscated $500,00 in cash. Montreal cops said: “The exact value of the precious metal seized has yet to be determined but is estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

DEATH CAME CALLING

Small towns were not immune from horrific big-city homicides.

KIRKLAND LAKE: Six murders, a missing woman and a man taken into custody around the time of four of the slayings is officially unaccounted for. Pretty wild for a town of 8,000, making it one of the most dangerous places in the country. To whit: Ashley Lafrance, 29, disappeared in September 2022 and was found in January 2023. Three people have been charged with first-degree murder. Ernest Renaud, 47, was shot to death June 8, and a Barrie man is charged with first-degree murder. Amanda Lachapelle, 37, and Gabriel Marecki, 49, were found murdered on July 30 while nine days later Lea Thompson, 33, and Kyle Robertson, 37, were discovered slain on Aug. 8.

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OWEN SOUND: One of the most horrifying murders of the year was the beating death of beloved Owen Sound restaurateur Sharif Rahman, 44, who died on Aug. 17. Three thugs attacked the father and his nephew when he tried to get them to settle their bill at closing time. He died of his injuries one week later. There have been no arrests.

PIED PIPER OF POISON

411: Accused Chef of Death Kenneth Law, 58, has been charged with 14 counts of second-degree murder for allegedly sending more than 1,200 suicide kits to people in 40 countries. Fourteen of Law’s alleged victims, between the ages of 16 and 36, were from Ontario – and those numbers could grow. Cops claim the alleged death packs contained legal sodium nitrite, normally used to cure meats but deadly if someone takes too much.

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NATION RIVER LADY

411: OPP detectives said they have finally solved the May 3, 1975, cold case murder of a Jane Doe who became known as the Nation River Lady. She was identified as Jewell Parchman Langford, a Tennessee businesswoman who vanished on a trip to Montreal. Langford’s body was discovered in the Nation River, halfway between Montreal and Ottawa. The body had no identifying features or identification. Cops charged former Montrealer Rodney Nichols, 81, with murder.

COLD JUSTICE

411: Detectives hinted for years they were close … very close … to solving the 1983 sex slayings of Susan Tice and Erin Gilmour. In October, William Sutherland, 61, of Moosonee, pleaded guilty to killing the two women. Cops used genetic geneology to zero in on Sutherland. Now, investigators are trying to determine if there are more victims.

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TALE OF TWO PEDOS

411: Florida’s view on convicted violent pedophiles is quite different from Canada’s: They want to execute them if the victim is under 12. Prosecutors have said they are seeking the death penalty for sicko Joseph Andrew Giampa. He was caught on video raping a young boy. Meanwhile, in Canada, the sentences for similar crimes can be counted in days.

THE EPSTEIN FILE

411: Speaking of pedophiles, billionaire monster Jeffrey Epstein who with his muse, disgraced socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, ran an international sex trafficking ring of underage girls, is not done with the headlines. A New York judge ruled that 200 names sealed in a lawsuit will be unveiled in early January. Already, it appears big players like Prince Andrew will be on the list. Other dominoes are sure to fall.

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TARGET: KIDS

411: Edmonton gangster Harpreet Singh Uppal, 41, was taken off the board at a gas station in the Alberta capital on Nov. 9. No big deal except for the fact that cops say his 11-year-old son Gavin was also targeted. He was deliberately targeted when the killers found him in his father’s BMW. And sadly, this is now the way. Canadian kids as cannon fodder.

SQUARED

411: Sometimes, it all comes out in the wash. Take Parmvir “Parm” Chahil. The 27-year-old gangbanger may have been iced in a downtown Toronto parking garage as part of an ongoing turf war in Western Canada. Fittingly. Chahil was arrested and convicted for 2018 Square One beatdown of an autistic man.

FINALLY

411: Charlie the Dentist is now facing the bitter tooth. Charles Adelson was convicted of orchestrating the murder of his former brother-in-law, Toronto legal academic Dan Markel at his Tallahassee home in 2014. Markel and his estranged wife, Wendi Adelson, had been in a bitter custody battle. Two hitmen and a fixer (Charlie’s former gal pal) were also convicted. His mother, Donna, has also been arrested and charged for her alleged role.

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NYGARD FILE

411: One-time rag trade king Peter Nygard was found guilty of four counts of sexual assault but acquitted of a fifth count plus a charge of forcible confinement at a Toronto jury trial. Nygard, 82, had pleaded not guilty to all charges, which stemmed from allegations dating back from the 1980s to the mid-2000s. And more trouble awaits Nygard in New York.

CANADIAN EPSTEIN?

411: Montreal electronics billionaire Robert Miller, 82, has been hit with a slew of allegations claiming he had sex with a small army of underage girls, some when they were as young as 11. Suffering from Parkinson’s, Miller is accused of running a similar scheme to Epstein’s. Allegations in the proposed lawsuits have not been tested in court. Forty-seven women are taking part in the claims. Miller has denied any wrongdoing.

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SLOW JUSTICE

411: The murder trial of alleged black widow Monica Sementilli, originally from Woodbridge, has been delayed again and again since her hair stylist husband Fabio was brutally murdered on the patio of his Los Angeles home in January 2017. Monica and her sex pal Robert Baker were later arrested. Baker pleaded guilty early this year and was sentenced to life in prison. The merry widow extolled the virtues of anal sex with Baker prior to Fabio’s murder. Maybe in 2024.

AND FINALLY…

411: GO TEAM! The former cheerleading coach at an Ohio high school (hubby was wrestling coach) had sex with a slew of teen wrestlers who lined up for carnal capers. Hubby watched. A lawsuit said the lewd antics of Michal Paige Huck, 45, were blown off by the school board and various principals. Our heroine has been indicted on a slew of sex charges. The suit is chock-a-block with threesomes, group sex and porn. One boy alleged that the hormone-charged hijinks kicked off when he was just 13 and lasted his entire high school career.

bhunter@postmedia.com

@HunterTOSun

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