Purported ringleader guilty in Bandidos biker murders
LONDON, Ont. — An internal cleansing of the Bandidos biker gang that saw eight bullet-ridden bodies stuffed into cars and abandoned in rural southwestern Ontario resulted Thursday in 44 first-degree murder convictions -- including eight for Wayne Kellestine, the purported mastermind of the slaying.
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Source: Purported ringleader guilty in Bandidos biker murders
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Five other men who were portrayed at trial, along with Kellestine, as power-hungry schemers or wannabes gunning for status in the outlaw motorcycle club were all found guilty of various counts of first-degree murder. A couple's discovery of four cars near their rural property on April 8, 2006 would lead police to a gruesome scene -- the bodies of the eight men shot at least 24 times at close range and crammed into the vehicles. They were found just kilometres away from Kellestine's farmhouse. During a six-month trial that heard from more than 70 witnesses, prosecutors successfully argued that seven of the eight men were led out of Kellestine's barn and executed, one by one. It's believed to be Ontario's largest mass slaying. Many of the defence lawyers for Kellestine's co-accused branded him a "psychopath" and a "monster" and placed the blame at his feet. On Thursday, Kellestine, Dwight Mushey and former police officer Michael Sandham were found guilty of eight counts each of first-degree murder after just 14 hours of jury deliberations over less than two days. After the first verdict was read Kellestine nodded his head slightly, and when his fate was sealed he looked at one of his lawyers and raised his eyebrows. Kellestine's lead lawyer, Clay Powell, said outside court that his client was probably expecting the guilty verdicts, and added "he's fine." |
Source: Purported ringleader guilty in Bandidos biker murders
