Cows Unlimited

Penny Patricia Boudreau has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 20 years after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the death of her 12-year-old daughter Karissa.

The 34-year-old former Shelburne County resident pled guilty to the lesser charge in Bridgewater Supreme Court on Friday. (Jan. 30), re-electing to be tried by judge alone, and proceeding directly to sentencing.

Sobs of sorrow filled the courtroom as the chilling details of the crime were revealed for the first time.

Reading an agreed statement of facts in the case, Crown prosecutor Paul Scovil told the court that it was through an undercover sting operation that police were able to obtain Boudreau’s confession that she had strangled Karissa and dumped her half clothed body on the frozen banks of the LaHave River on Jan. 27, 2008.

Karissa’s remains were discovered on Feb. 9, 2008 by a nine-year-old boy and his mother. Police began to suspect Boudreau in the murder of Karissa two days after the body was discovered, when neighbors overheard a ruckus in the apartment shared by Boudreau and Macumber.

“Macumber was saying over and over ‘Penn, how could you do this,’” said Scovil.

The undercover operation began on Feb. 14, 2008 when Boudreau and her then boyfriend Vernon Macumber were first arrested and questioned in connection with the murder.

While Boudreau and Macumber were in custody an undercover officer posing as a cellmate was able to establish a bond with Macumber.

Acting on the opportunity, the undercover officer met with Macumber several times after his release, offering him the opportunity for work with him for a crime syndicate.

“A wide scale undercover operation began utilizing a number of scenarios to gain the trust of Macumber,” sad Scovil.

When the Boudreau and Macumber moved to Halifax on April 1, 2008, so did the undercover operation. During a meeting on April 16 Macumber made comments to the undercover operator to the effect that he had nothing to do with the murder of Karissa, and that he suspected Penny had murdered her daughter. He also told the undercover officer that he was still living with her in order to keep her close so she would not implicate him in the homicide.

“On May 3, 2008, undercover operators were able to convince Macumber they required the services of a female to assist in the work they were performing,” said Scovil. A meeting was arranged between Boudreau and the undercover operators and she became “very active with the undercover operators and their work.”

As the three-month anniversary of the discovery of Karissa’s body approached, investigators noticed that Boudreau was troubled by media reports that named her place of employment and commented on the value of DNA evidence. Boudreau made the comment to an undercover operator that she wished “the police exhibit vault would burn down or blow up.”

On June 11, a meeting was arranged between Boudreau and an undercover operator whom she was led to believe had connections and could possibly make her problem go away, but in order for him to help her she had to tell him everything about what happened to her daughter and she did.

Boudreau told the undercover operator that she and Macumber were having issues, and that Macumber had gave her an ultimatum to pick either him or Karissa.

For several days she thought about it before taking the life of her daughter.

On Jan. 27, the day Karissa disappeared, Boudreau told the undercover operator that she and Karissa had drove around for several hours talking and that things had gotten out of hand and they were both angry. “Boudreau said she ‘did what she had to do,’” said Scovil.

With Karissa in the car, Boudreau drove to the Sobeys parking lot at around 5:30 p.m. to pick up some groceries. While still in the store and Karissa still alive in the car, Boudreau called Macumber and left a message saying that Karissa was not in the car when she came out.

Boudreau then returned to the car, put the groceries in the trunk, grabbing a piece of beige twine and putting it in her pocket.

“Karissa kept wanting to get out of the car so Boudreau waited until it was dark and drove to the William Hebb Road and told Karissa that if she wanted to get out then, to get out,” said Scovil. “Boudreau said she couldn’t let her go back and tell people what a horrible mom she was.”

Both mother and daughter got out of the car into the dark, snowy night. Boudreau went to grab her daughter but it was slippery so she tackled her backwards to the ground, pinning Karissa down with her knees on her chest. With her hands underneath her Karissa couldn’t move.

“”Mommy don’t,’ was the only thing Karissa said,” said Scovil.

Face to face with her daughter, Boudreau took the twine and strangled Karissa until she felt her life drain away.

Boudreau then dragged Karissa’s body back to the car, and drove back to Bridgewater to decide what to do next. She put the twine in a Tim Horton’s cup and threw it into a garbage can at Tim Hortons on High Street, while Karissa’s body was still in the car.

Boudreau then drove to the turn around spot on King Street, adjacent to the LaHave River where she parked the car, shut it and the lights out, and using her blue jeans as leverage, dragged Karissa’s body to the edge of the steep embankment.

Karissa’s pants, underwear and socks came off as Boudreau dragged the body, said Scovil, which Boudreau felt would make people think Karissa was sexually assaulted.

“Boudreau stated Karissa’s hoodie and vest came off and she was left wearing a t-shirt with one pant leg in her jeans,” said Scovil. “Boudreau then rolled her over the edge of the bank knowing that the weather was calling for lots of snow” and Karissa’s body wouldn’t be found for a while.

Boudreau then got back in her car, taking the vest, hoodie and a croc, and throwing the articles of clothing into a garbage can by the Bridgewater swimming pool, realizing the other piece of footwear was missing..

Boudreau then went home and told Macumber that Karissa was missing, calling the police, as well as family, friends and teachers to check and see if anyone knew where Karissa was.

Scovil said Boudreau told the undercover operator that she would do anything for Macumber and the thought of losing him was harder than the thought of losing her daughter.

“A mother killing her child is an inconceivable act,” said Scovil. “Karissa was failed by the one person who should have protected her, her mother.”

Before passing sentence victim impact statements from Karissa’s father Paul Boudreau, and stepmother Chasity Grear were read to the court.

In his statement, Karissa’s father said that he had many dreams of being many things in his daughter’s life but “now all those dreams are gone… the centre of those dreams is gone because of one selfish act.”

Grear wrote that there are no words to describe what the family has endured over the past year. “We struggle through each day and ask not why but what good can come out of this senseless act of violence… Karissa got a death sentence. We got a life sentence.”

In passing down sentence, Justice Margaret Stewart said this was a “violent death” that not only shocked the community but the police as well, noting the circumstances in the case are close to first degree murder.

Justice Stewart noted that Boudreau didn’t turn herself in, didn’t show remorse to the undercover operator, and mused that it must have been “crocodile tears” that Boudreau shed when she so passionately made the public appeal for the safe return of Karissa.

“You can never call yourself mother again in connection with Karissa,” Justice Stewart told Boudreau. “Mommy don’t are words that will haunt you for the rest of your life.”

When asked if she had anything to say, Boudreau offered a tearful “I’m sorry.”

Justice Stewart accepted the joint recommendation from crown and defense for life in prison, with eligibility for parole after 20 years, or June 14, 2028. Boudreau’s sentence starts from the date of her arrest.

Under what is known as the faint hope clause, Boudreau can apply for parole after 15 years.

A former Shelburne County woman pleaded guilty this morning in Bridgewater court to a charge of second-degree murder in the death of her 12-year-old daughter Karissa Boudreau.

After the guilty plea, the court was moving into a quick sentencing hearing for Penny Boudreau, a hearing that was ongoing as this article was being written Friday morning.

Shelburne Coast Guard reporter Kathy Johnson is at the scene and is providing reports on the court hearing.

Boudreau, 34, has remained in jail since being charged with the murder last June by Bridgewater Police and RCMP.

Her daughter Karissa was reported missing on Jan. 27, 2008 by her mother. After weeks of searching and tearful pleas to the public, the body of the girl was found Feb. 9 along the LaHave River.

Karissa had only recently moved to Bridgewater, having grown up in Shelburne County where she attended elementary schools on Cape Sable Island and in Shelburne.

Three cases of the flu, one of them in Yarmouth, have been reported so far this year. The other two communities with reports of the flu are Windsor and Halifax.

“Given that these cases are spread out over a large portion of the province, we can say the flu is here and it will spread over the coming days and weeks,” said Dr. Robert Strang, chief public health officer. “Taking preventive action is still the best way to protect yourself against infection.”

Nova Scotians can take several simple steps to avoid the flu. There is still time to get a flu shot. Frequent and thorough hand-washing is also an effective way to prevent a whole range of infectious diseases, including influenza.

The vaccine is available through family doctors. It is free for many Nova Scotians, including pregnant women; people 65 or older; babies age six to 23 months, adults and children with chronic diseases; anyone living with someone 65 or older or someone with a chronic illness; all health-care workers and students in a health-care program; police and firefighters; and anyone who lives in a chronic or long-term care facility.

“If you do become ill, it’s important to cough and sneeze into your sleeve, and to avoid face-to-face contact with other people,” said Dr. Strang. “People should also stay home until the symptoms are gone, and it’s especially important to stay away from hospitals and long term-care facilities.”

Flu symptoms include fever, headache, chills, cough, sore throat, joint aches and muscle aches.

Nova Scotia Music Week may be coming to Yarmouth.

The Vanguard has learned from several people connected to the event that Yarmouth is expected to be named as the host of the 13th annual event.

Scott Long, executive director of Music Nova Scotia, would not confirm or deny the news, however he said an announcement would come sometime early next week about the host site of this year’s event.

Nova Scotia Music Week is a four-day event celebrating music, musicians and the industry in the province. The event features live performances, tradeshows, workshops and an awards show and gala.

Past host sites include Halifax, Liverpool and Pictou County. The event in Liverpool in 2007 attracted around 500 people.

Yarmouth has been a hotbed of musical activity for years, but much of that has remained a well-kept secret unless musicians left to make their mark other places.

A local organizing committee was established last spring in an attempt to bring the event to Yarmouth and it appears those efforts were successful.

After a couple of weeks of cleaning up, next week Parents’ Place will once again be able to offer regular programming at its Barnard Street location, and off site as well.

Since the start of the new year, the family resource centre has not been able to offer any programming because a section of the building was heavily damaged by water.

Over the Christmas and New Year’s holiday break, pipes burst in the building and the water damage spread to two floors of the older section of the building.

Although that part of the building was only used for storage, the resulting debris and clean-up meant that parts of the building used for the public for programming had to temporarily be turned into storage areas themselves.

And staff that operate the programs offered by Parents’ Place were busy cleaning up the building.

On Friday Annette Deveau, executive director of Parents’ Place, said they are ready to begin regular programming again on Monday, Jan. 26.

As for the damaged section of the building, it will be demolished as opposed to repaired.

It’s unclear when the demolition will begin, although it won’t be in the immediate future.

Like everyone around the world.. Obama being President and being sworn in .. was a much watch for us here in Canada. Having said all the above, I feel that Obama has a very hard job to perform in the next few years .. because of all that Bush had done .. during his reign as President.  I hope .. Obama will perform .. for the sake of the people in USA .. and also the world.

This will go down in history..and i’m happy to know that i’ve seen this… here in Canada.

The eyes of atheist and humanist groups across Canada are on Toronto, where a group is proposing to plaster ads that question the existence of God on the city’s transit buses.

The Toronto-based Freethought Association of Canada wants to buy bus ads that say: “There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”

The message comes from a campaign recently rolled out in the United Kingdom, sparking similar campaigns in Washington, D.C. and the Spanish cities of Barcelona and Madrid.

Atheist groups in Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver are keeping a close watch on Toronto’s efforts.

“We’re going to see how that flies,” said Cliff Erasmus, co-ordinator for the Center for Inquiry in the Calgary area.

Atheist, humanists and agnostics should have the same opportunities to voice their opinions as people of faith, without discrimination, Erasmus said.

There are a lot of misconceptions about what it means to be an atheist, he added.

“For some reason, we’re labelled as devil worshippers and all sorts of nasty stuff,” he said.

Those misconceptions are part of the reason for the campaign, said Katie Kish of the Freethought Association.

“So often you see (atheists) portrayed as kind of gloomy and angry. We really wanted to counter that stereotype,” said Kish.

The other goal, said Kish, is opening a dialogue with religious groups.

“I think discussion is really important and that’s what I’m hoping will happen from this campaign.”

A spokesman for the Montreal chapter of the Center for Inquiry said there could be conversations about Toronto’s concept if it works well.

For Guillaume Loignon, the ads would provide an alternative for non-believers in Montreal since there are numerous publicity campaigns run by religious organizations in Quebec.

At least one faith group appears to be open to the ads.

“If it helps to foster dialogue in our society, that might actually be a good thing,” Rev. Susan Johnson, national bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, said in an interview from Winnipeg.

The British brainchild behind the ads says she’s pleased that the message could soon spread to Canada.

“As long as it’s a peaceful campaign,” Ariane Sherine said from London.

Sherine started the campaign after noticing ads on London buses that led curious readers to a website that suggested non-Christians would spend eternity in hell.

Initially, Sherine hoped to raise enough money to post ads on 30 buses in London. The campaign received enough donations to buy ads on 800 buses across the U.K.

In Toronto, the group has launched http://atheistbus.ca/, a website through which they hope to collect between $6,000 and $7,000 to purchase the bus ads. Hours after it was set up Friday, the group had received $6,800, according to its website.

The ad has been submitted for approval to CBS Outdoor, the firm that handles advertising for the Toronto Transit Commission, said Kish.

Though they’ve settled on the message for the campaign – it’s identical to the slogan used in the U.K. – the actual layout is still being worked out. They want “something happy, something bright,” Kish said.

If approved, the month-long campaign would start in the spring.

“This is what people come to see. I’m just doing my show,” the comedian said with a laugh.

He’s also known for his political commentary, but there’s one person he’s having a lot of trouble making fun of — president-elect Barack Obama.

This is apparent in his new DVD “Kill the Messenger,” which combines three shows from his international tour: New York; London, England; and Johannesburg, South Africa.

“It was a tour nobody wanted to do… because the general perception is that comedy doesn’t translate,” Rock said.

But thanks to the Internet, the world is a lot smaller than it was even 10 years ago. And people are digging the same jokes, he said, including ones about John McCain and Sarah Palin.

As the DVD readies for release on January 20, CNN talked with Rock about his lack of Obama jokes, Inauguration Day and why racism will never die. The following is an edited version of that interview:

CNN: I watched the special last night, and I noticed that you did a lot of jokes about John McCain — his age, his war hero story — but not so many about Barack Obama. Is it harder to make fun of Obama?

Chris Rock: He’s just one of those guys, you know, like Will Smith. There’s no Will Smith jokes. There’s no Brad Pitt jokes. You know, what are you going to say? “Ooh, you used to have sex with Jennifer Anniston. Now you have sex with Angelina Jolie. You’re such a loser.” What do you say? “Ooh, your movies are big. You make $20 million.” There’s nothing to say about Brad Pitt.

CNN: Why is Obama like that?

Rock: It’s like “Ooh, you’re young and virile and you’ve got a beautiful wife and kids. You’re the first African-American president.” You know, what do you say?

CNN: As time goes on do you think it will get easier?

Rock: Of course, as time goes on. At some point he’s going to — there’s always slip-ups. No one can survive that level of scrutiny without occasionally making it easy for a comedian.

CNN: Let’s talk about the inauguration. Are you going?

Rock: No, I have to go to Sundance [Film Festival]. I’ve got a movie premiering at Sundance. So I have to go to the whitest place in America — Utah.

CNN: What’s it going to be like for you on Inauguration Day?

Rock: It’ll be a cool day. It’s weird. I’ve never watched an inauguration. I’ve never watched anyone get sworn in. You know, it’s like Election Day and then you look up and somebody else is the president two months later. It was never like, “I can’t wait till tomorrow. Oh my god! They’re going to swear in Jimmy Carter!”

CNN: Are you going to watch this one, though?

Rock: I’ll put it this way — like any business is going to be getting done while this guy is getting sworn in. Like I’m going to be in a meeting. Everything is going to stop for however long it takes. Hope they get to it — hope it’s not like I gotta listen to three different versions of “The Star-Spangled Banner” or something. I hope it’s not like Rosa Parks’ funeral, where everybody f***ing speaks.

CNN: What are you hoping Barack Obama does for this country? What do you think is his most important task?

Rock: You know, if you’re the president you only have two jobs: peace and money. That’s it. I mean, it’s like, what did Clinton do? We were at peace and we had a budget surplus. That’s it. That’s the gig. The closer you get us to those two goals, you know, that’s pretty much the gig. Is that too much to ask for?

CNN: At one point in your act, you said, “Racism will never die. It will only multiply.” Why do you believe that?

Rock: Well, it’s never going to die. Maybe it won’t multiply. Is racism going to end? No.

It’s not even race. People are always going to, you know, find something wrong with people who are not the exact same as them. That’s just what it is. Black, white, short, tall, religions, whatever. People are bad, man.

CNN: How was it different playing for an audience in Africa?

Rock: You know it’s weird — it really wasn’t that different. I mean, that’s why I love this special. People are the same wherever you go. And if they weren’t, they wouldn’t laugh at the same s**t. If they were so different they wouldn’t know what I was talking about.

CNN: Stand-up comics I’ve talked to in the past say they like their shows to appear spontaneous. But your new DVD stitches together three shows, illustrating to the audience how scripted comedy can be. Why did you decide on that format?

Rock: You know, I don’t believe in that “come up with stuff on the spot.” I mean, honestly, that’s why I think comedy, stand-up comedy, always plays such a back seat to music.

Like, would you go see a singer if you thought he just came up with the songs? They wouldn’t give out Grammys for songs that they just came up with. You’re going to go see someone at Radio City or Madison Square Garden, I think you’d like to know that they have an act before you spend $75.

So yeah, when you say “came up with it right there,” that’s really cute when you paid $8 to get in and two-drink minimum. When the ticket’s $75, that’s a whole other mindset.

Don’t Bring Home A Maggot In Your Head  when you come home from a vacation.  Watch this.. !! hope it doesn’t gross you out.

Maggot Lives Inside Woman’s Head – video powered by Metacafe

No one disputes the big story – and problem – facing North America is the current recession. Only a fool would comment on the matter – particularly with predictions.

But there are lots of other things worthy of comment – even prediction, in some cases.

The one question is whether there will be yet another federal election in the new year. Of course, it all depends upon Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s budget January 27. And, if it contains measures righteous enough to get – and retain – new Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff and his increasingly centrist crowd on side.

As pundits have said already, if the budget is good enough, the Liberals can avoid an election, grab all the credit for the good points and leave the governing Tories with the continuing taint of the recession legend. It looks as though the Liberals could just want to sit back and watch Harper get tagged with the same legend as Herbert Hoover and R.B. Bennett. Harper haters who are Liberals and their supporters in the media and academe will see to it that gets lasting currency far and wide. That will be regardless of how the recession plays out, and how well the Tories perform in its eradication – or not.

As for a provincial vote, this is likely the final opportunity for NDP leader Darrell Dexter to get to the premier’s office. The popular leader’s shelflife could well be in its last months, with the Liberals’ Stephen McNeil’s value increasing as time progresses.

On the world scene, the United States’ president-elect is getting ready. Even if he doesn’t accomplish anything spectacular for some time, Barack Obama’s ascendency will be a major boost to morale. We can only wait and watch.

Meanwhile, Canada’s old friend, Cuba, is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its revolution against a corrupt dictatorship. Prime Minister John Diefenbaker’s Tories were the first Canadian government to foster good relations with Fidel Castro and his country. While the Americans became more and more belligerent – with a botched invasion by proxy and an ongoing attack on Cuban property – the Canadian government and big business retained positive relations with Cuba. Though retaining other friends that many may have seen as unseemly over the years, and dealing with political opposition in a more than acceptable robust manner, the revolution has brought a relatively high level of universal education and medical care to all Cubans.

Canadians have been front and centre in Cuban trade, Kings County agriculture producers among them, but the continuing embargo by the Americans remains a major problem for the island nation’s economy.

Fidel’s brother, Raul, who many Cubans see as a much better businessman than his older brother, is president; there is hope things can now progress. That, of course, depends upon how the Americans react. Will they halt the pointless embargo? And will renewed relations involve former business owners arriving, lawyers in tow, to reclaim properties to which they may still feel entitled?

Straightening hair and putting on glasses was what one father did .. in Japan, Tokyo to make sure his son pass his exams.  Afterall, we all know how hard it is, for one to pass the exams in Japan and how to get into University.

The father who is 54 was not named but he sure made a lot of effort to make himself look like his son, according to his identity card – the police found out.  And how was he found out..?? the examinar thought he looked older than his ID.  So what did the father do.. when he got busted..??  he apologized and confessed.  Looks like the father who wanted his son .. to work with him selling drugs needed to take an exam to get a license to handle drugs and his son never knew his father was planning to do that.  Looks like good intention.. but really bad idea.  The father will be charged, lets hope he doesn’t lose his own drug license.

Gaza is dying — the battle is advancing into cities packed with 1.5 million terrified civilians lacking food, medicine or water. President Bush undermined Thursday’s United Nations ceasefire resolution, over 1000 people are dead, the UN headquarters and Gaza’s main hospital are burning: there is nowhere safe. The borders remain closed — journalists can’t get in, and desperate civilians can’t get out.

But the global movement to end this war is building — our petition is at 430,000 signatures and rising, it has been delivered to top leaders at the EU, UN and Arab League, our US members are flooding their representatives with phone calls, and Avaaz members worldwide have donated over $120,000 to an ad campaign in key newspapers.

The pressure is working — so we’re ratcheting it up with hard-hitting US ads pressing Barack Obama personally for an immediate change of tack, face-to-face petition deliveries to European leaders this week to get them to act, and working with Palestinians and Israelis to plan bold actions on the ground. But every one of these actions becomes stronger as more of us join the campaign. We need to reach 1 million signatures this week — sign the petition now and let’s forward this email to all our friends and family:

Voices for a ceasefire are finally being heard in the Israeli cabinet and media, Hamas is signalling it could accept a deal including Turkish forces and EU monitors, but the sides are too far apart to end this themselves.[3] That’s why action by world powers is critical to break the deadlock — and global citizens’ voices can make all the difference if we raise an unstoppable voice calling on incoming President Obama, the EU and Arab and Muslim states to guarantee a fair and lasting ceasefire.

Gem Of Life Episode 60 ?  you waiting to watch it?  So am I, you go right ahead and check out this blog for it.  I think all entertainment can be found here.

God..!! i hope not..! i’m using Vista myself on my new laptop .. and it was a big leap for me.. an now i hear this new..?? Not good.. buddy..!!! not good at all..!!!

“It seems that Microsoft is already giving up on Vista and is setting up business users to switch from XP to Windows 7.”

Sure Vista uses a lot of ram .. and they say it is because of security improvement.. but you and I know.. that it is not true… about the security part.  But you have Microsoft talking about Windows 7 all the time these days.. and from what i heard.. Vista is still not being used by the corporate users .. that Microsoft had aim to target.  100 million users as per Bill Gates in not happening anytime soon.

That’s is just too sad.. that this young man was shot on New Year’s day at the subway.  I would be demanding for some answers too.  I bet his family must be real mad.. at how he was shot. Hundreds of ppl were at the Bay Area Rapid transit demanding that someone take responsibility for the shooting.  To think that they  had a moment of silence.. !! if i were there.. i said .. cut the bullshit and give us some freaking answers.

“I am begging the citizens not to use violent tactics, not to be angry,” an emotional Johnson said at the news conference. “I know it’s a very frustrating time, but Oscar would not want to see all the violence that’s going on. He would not want to see the fires, he would not want to see this.”

The U.S Treasury gave a loan to Chrysler i guess to bail them out.  The CEO of Chrysler said it is to help bridge the current financial crisis.  Wow..!! that’s a lot of money.. !!!  for any company..!! i hope the small businesses are also taken care of too.. afterall, the small boys are equally important eh..???

Awfully sad if you asked me.. that this should happen on new year’s eve.. that is why i always choose not to celebrate in crowded places.  And in Bangkok .. one can expect more of these incidences … because the building itself may not be safe .. due to lots of corruption there.

More on the scene.