Ottawa man charged in 2007 triple homicide held behind bars until April | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Ottawa man charged in 2007 triple homicide held behind bars until April

Geraldine Castle-Trudel, the lawyer for Ian Bush, who is facing murder charges in an unsolved triple murder, leaves the Ottawa Court house Saturday, February 21, 2015. Bush appeared by video link to face the charges. Bush first came to police and public attention when he was charged as a suspect in an attack on an elderly Second World War veteran in December.
Image Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand

OTTAWA - An Ottawa man facing murder charges in an unsolved 2007 triple homicide has been ordered held in custody until his next court appearance.

Ian Bush, who is also facing allegations in a December attack on a D-Day veteran, appeared by video link in an Ottawa court on Saturday morning, where he was remanded until April 7 on three charges of first-degree murder.

Bush sat silently in a police holding room while his case was being presented in court, wearing the same black leather jacket he wore when he was arrested on Friday.

His voice was barely audible when he was asked to state his name, so much so that the judge had to repeat the question.

Bush is charged in the deaths of retired tax court judge Alban Garon, his wife Raymonde and their neighbour, Marie-Claire Beniskos, all of whom were in their 70s when they were killed in 2007.

It's a case that had horrified residents of the capital and stumped police until only recently.

Police said there were no witnesses to the killings and surveillance video cameras installed at the Garon's luxury condominium building were not properly working at the time.

Police announced the charges on Friday, saying they have DNA evidence linking Bush to the killings.

On Saturday the court ordered a ban on publication of any evidence presented in the case.

Bush was also ordered not to communicate with a number of witnesses including some of his family members.

Police have not said what they believe was the motive for the triple slaying.

Bush, 59, first came to police and public attention when he was charged in a Dec. 18 attack on an elderly Second World War veteran.

Investigators have said that assault on 101-year-old Ernest Cote, and Bush's subsequent arrest after he was turned in to police by family members, gave them the evidence they needed to link the two cases.

"It was a very big moment," Staff Sgt. Bruce Pirt of the Ottawa Police major crime unit said about the break in the case.

Cote was robbed and assaulted in his home, and told investigators his assailant placed a plastic bag over his head during the attack. However, he managed to escape virtually unharmed.

On Friday, Bush was ordered fit to stand trial in the Cote attack after prosecutor Julie Scott presented a psychiatric assessment report on him, which was sealed by the court.

The father of three, who had no previous significant brushes with the law, was then also charged with 11 firearms-related offences in connection with guns that were seized by police from his Orleans home.

The home invasion assault case, which includes a charge of attempted murder, has been held over until March 6 to set a trial date.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2015
The Canadian Press

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