Calgary Herald from Calgary, Alberta, Canada • 19

1 i SECTION ffAi UMlMGWS City Editor: Roman Cooney 235-7517 Fax: 235-7379 CALGARY HERALD Saturday, May 17, 1997 CRIME Details of grisly pletely recovered. As aggravating factors in imposing the hefty sentence, Maloney cited Purdy's driving record and the fact he had been drinking, although the Crown could not prove impairment. Purdy had lost his licence three times previously for driving infractions and had only recently got it back after an impaired driving conviction, court heard. Two days before the crash, he was convicted of running a red light. Craig, among about two dozen victims' family members who packed the small courtroom, said he felt the sentence was appropriate considering Purdy's driving record and attitude.

"I'm glad to have come out alive, but I'm (angry) at the death of my friend (Wells)," said Craig, who didn't know Purdy well and was riding with him for the first time. "I can't remember that night, but I have nightmares every DARYLSLADE Calgary Herald Calling it a callous and intentional act that snuffed out three lives in an instant, a judge sentenced a Calgary driver to 6V2 years in prison Friday "This offence cries out for a deterrent. It's trite to say no sentence this court can give will compensate for the loss of three people," provincial court Judge Frank Maloney said in sentencing Jason Todd Purdy, 23. "A key factor for this offence is the high degree of disregard for life and the safety of others." Purdy pleaded guilty last week to three counts of criminal negligence causing death and one count of criminal negligence causing bodily harm. Maloney also prohibited him from driving in Canada for 12 years after he is released from prison.

Crown prosecutor Jonathan Hak, who had argued for a 10-year prison term and a lifetime driving ban, said it is unlikely the sentence will be appealed. The largest sentence ever handed out in Alberta for the offence is eight years. "We're seeking in all cases to deter drivers from similar conduct in the future," Hak said outside court. Purdy, who had been drinking, was travelling at 135 kmh at about 10 p.m. on Oct.

19, 1995 when his Camaro went through a red light at Macleod Trail and 58th Avenue and slammed into a Buick carrying Cecil Collinson, 54, and Caroline O'Dell, 53. The two square dancers who had attended a hoedown earlier were killed instantly. The crash also killed Trevor Wells, 22, a passenger in Purdy's car. Another passenger, Shane Craig, 23, suffered serious injuries and has not com 4K-t ikL. yj murder set out BOB BEATY Calgary Herald A Calgarian who recently turned himself in on a possible U.S.

murder charge allegedly wrote how he killed a colleague and disposed of his dismembered body The alleged confession by Gary Daniel Wilson, 30, gives a graphic account of how he used a ham mer to kill the husband of a woman he claimed to be in love with. But the docu ment also states that victim Marek Kosciuk- WILSON iewicz first attacked Wilson with the hammer after Wilson questioned who impregnated Kosciukiewicz's wife. It says Wilson wrestled the hammer away from Kosciukiewicz, then beat him uncon- -scious with it I quickly hit him with it," the docu ment says. "It didn't hurt him at all so I hit him and hit him and hit him." Wilson's Calgary lawyer, Don MacLeod, said Friday that while he is aware of the alleged confession, he is not conceding that Wilson wrote it. Nor is he conceding that the docu ment's contents accurately reflect what happened to Kosciukiewicz, whose whereabouts remain unknown.

FRIEND GIVEN CONFESSION According to the Court of Queen's Bench extradition file, Wilson wrote the confession letter on June 20, 1996, and-gave it to a Calgary friend. Calgary homicide Det. Colin Ache-son swore in the court file that he received the original confession from Wilson's friend. At the time of the alleged homicide in Kosciukiewicz's Houston home on June 15, 1996, Wilson and Kosciukiewicz were friends working in Texas for the international oil com- pany Amoco Eurasia. According to the court file and to U.S.

police, Wilson was in love with Kosciukiewicz's wife Alicia. After Kosciukiewicz's death, U.S. police say, Wilson fled Houston, arriving in the Calgary area about five days later. Wilson was a fugitive for nearly a year before turning himself in to Calgary police last weekend. ON UNSOLVED MYSTERIES While Wilson was at large, the story received widespread attention in the U.S.

and was featured on the Jan. 10 episode of the Unsolved Mysteries television program. According to the Calgary court file, a typewritten duplicate of the original handwritten version, Wilson wrote that after beating Kosciukiewicz unconscious, he stood over him with the hammer fearing he might attack again. "His breathing got really heavy and congested. He bled buckets," the document states.

"I stood over him with the hammer for a long time. When his breathing stopped I got a hanger and wrapped it around his throat." Wilson allegedly wrote that he knew he should turn himself in, "but as a frightened idiot who does not trust the justice system, especially in the States, I cannot force myself to do this. "Believe me, it will be a relief if I am caught. The weight is too much." BODY CUT UP In the Calgary court file, it is alleged that Wilson cut up Kosciukiewicz's body and tried to freeze it before putting it in his car and driving north to Canada. "I spent the whole day chopping him up, bagging him.

I would have dropped all of Marek into the Red River but I figured he'd float," the document says. "I kept driving, looking for likely disposal sites and then I decided to get rocks to weigh him down." But when a river near Muskogee proved to be too shallow, the document says, "I panicked, yet again, and just dumped it in the bush." Sgt. Jim Pokluda of the Fort Bend, Texas Sheriff's Department said his investigators received the alleged confession letter from Calgary police last summer. An extensive search of the Red River near the Texas-Oklahoma border and the Muskogee, area failed to reveal any human remains, he said. See BODY, Page B2 if "vf Yt CRASH VICTIMS: Caroline O'Dell and Cecil Collinson time I think about the whole ordeal." Relatives of the two square dancers said they were satisfied with the prison sentence, but disappointed Purdy was not banned for life from driving and did not personally apologize to victims' relatives in court.

"It's not the jail sentence as much as him not being able to drive," said O'Dell's daughter, Louise Ast. "We have three people here who won't ever drive again." "He has had two opportunities to make verbal remarks and chose not to. He had his lawyer (Jim Ogle) read a statement," said Susan Collinson, the victim's daughter. Added 16-year-old Sarah Stewart: "It gave people an idea of just how random it is and how many people can be affected." Next year, SADD hopes to get all Aberhart students to sign a Contract for Life, where they make a pact with a parent, friend or relative to call them if they need a ride home. "The contract says they can call no matter what the time and get a ride home and the consequences will be dis cussed later, when everyone is calm," says Turner.

Aberhart is the only Calgary high school with a SADD program. There are 32 programs in rural schools, but it's been hard to garner interest in urban areas. "Transportation is a bigger issue in small towns," said Jason Stolz, the vol unteer co-ordinator of SADD in Alberta. "For whatever reason, we've had a hard time getting programs going in Calgary and Edmonton." Next year, Turner plans to spread the word to other schools with presentations showing how kids can prevent impaired driving. said Marriott.

Asked why the pair were not held by Saddledome staff, Marriott replied: "I guess they were just so happy to get it back." "I'd like to be able to pursue this and be able to talk to the guys, but at this point I don't anticipate any charges." Wednesday night's fund raiser netted $580,688 for families trying to rebuild their lives after the rampaging Red River flooded their homes. Rob Galbraith, Calgary Herald DEATH WATCH: Paige Boutin (left), Amy Simmons, Emma Turner, Rachel Hird, Shannon Brooks and Sarah Stewart (on floor) symbolize drinking-and-drivingtoll ADD teens glad to help curb drinking-driving grad parties CHAM THE I 0 OF GAMES sbcBIb16 SASHA NAGY Calgary Herald When Const. Gary Oates laces up his skates for the city police hockey team at the World PoliceFire Games, the 'coaches will know one thing for sure. This guy plays with pain. Oates was almost run over, smashed into a parked car and thrown three metres through the air Thursday as police chased a suspect wanted for a series of hit-and-run incidents.

A man was arrested, but not before least five cars were hit, a store was robbed, a person was shot with a staple gun and Oates was knocked down by a car. Although both Const. Gary Oates his legs were hurt, Oates collected himself from the pavement and hopped into his cruiser to continue the pursuit. He was treated at the Rockyview Hospital and released. "My knees are the worst," said Oates, who wouldn't elaborate on the injuries except to say they hurt.

A lot. However, he hopes to make the police hockey team's practice Wednesday For officers competing in the coming World PoliceFire Games, the risk of injury on the playing field pales in comparison to the risks on the streets. "It's something that comes with the territory," said Oates. He took up the search for the hit-and-run suspect after witnesses directed him to Top's Pizza at Southland Drive and Bonaventure Drive site of the second stolen vehicle. "He was driving around like a maniac; maybe he thought we wouldn't think he'd return to the scene," said Oates.

"We walked into the restaurant and asked if they had seen anyone who fit the description, and they said, 'Yah, he's running out the door right "He must have left his car running, because when I caught up to him the door was open and I thought there was still time to get him. I tried to kick his hands off the steering wheel and he fell over," recounted Oates. "I thought he'd stay down. He didn't." fell as he kicked the suspect's hands and was stabilizing himself by holding onto the door and the roof of the car. The driver regained control of the car and started to drive away.

"I was carried along, trying to get my body up holding onto the roof of the car," said Oates. Then the driver slammed the car into another parked car. "It shot me through the air and I landed under another parked car, at least that what my partner told me," said Oates. "I got back up, it was all adrenalin," said Oates. "Once we heard we had the guy in custody, I said, 'I think I'm "It happened in seconds.

I asked myself, what could I have done differently. Nothing. I didn't want him to go and kill someone," said Oates. At the hospital, Oates and the suspect, who suffered minor injuries, was wheeled by him. This time there was no collision.

'While he was gettingX-rayed in one room, I was getting X-rayed in next room," said Gates. Glenn DavidOliver, 25, is inpolice custody fficr won't be X. r. One friend, who was at a party, made sure her driver was sober. Still, she was injured in an accident when the car she was riding in was hit by another group of teens who were A responsible rite of passage drinking.

"More and more families have two cars, so there is one available for kids to take to parties. They drink and then they don't think about other options for getting home," says Turner. The group's first event, White Out Day, happened a few weeks ago. Every 22 minutes, they randomly picked one student to die a mock death to symbolize the number of people who die in North America from alcohol-related traffic accidents. White outlines of the dead were taped to the floor in hallways for students to see.

"It was shock value," says Turner. "We didn't have to say anything, it was just a demonstration of the effect drinking and driving has." LAURA SHUTIAK Calgary Herald It's the season for graduation parties and teens are going to drink. A group of students at William Aberhart High School are working to make sure they don't drive home. Grade 11 student Emma Turner formed Aberhart's Students Against Drinking and Driving (SADD) group in March. They've already made an impact on their peers.

"I think it has become a topic of conversation," said teacher-sponsor Colleen Hoy "They've given students something to think about." About 15 students come to SADD's weekly meeting to plan events to raise awareness of the issue. "We don't want to be preachy and sound like parents," said Shannon Brooks, 16. "Kids have heard the speeches before. You can't tell kids not to drink at grad, but you can tell them to be responsible." Despite the warnings, many teens are getting behind the wheel. SADD members have seen friends and classmates drive after drinking.

RED Guilt gets MARIO TONEGUZZI Calgary Herald Thieves who stole a rare guitar at Wednesday's Red River Relief concert at the Saddledome have apparently had a bout of conscience. "They probably felt a lot of heat. Basically it was like they had taken food out of the mouths of poor people," said police Det. Tom Marriott The guitar a bird's-eye maple Gib: son Epiphone used by singer Tom Jack RIVER RELIEF CONCERT better of guitar thieves son was stolen between midnight and 12:10 a.m. Thursday from an unlocked dressing room.

Also taken was a briefcase containing a cellular phone and documents. Marriott said two people anonymously returned the guitar and the briefcase Thursday at about 9 p.m. to Saddledome security staff. He said the two offered their apologies for having taken the items. "I guess they had a case of the guilts,".