Joseph Desjarlais was bound, gagged, and beat before he was murdered and Manny’s Motel set on fire

Manny’s Motel was torn down after the fire. / City of Wetaskiwin photo

A judge found three people guilty in the death of 21-year-old Joseph Desjarlais. They bound, beat and gagged him before killing him and torching his room at Manny’s Motel in Wetaskiwin trying to hide the crime.

Justice Wayne Renke found Levi William Favel guilty of second-degree murder and arson, Riley Keith Maygard-Olynyk guilty of second-degree murder, and Brittany Lynne Lucy Omeasoo guilty of manslaughter.

Justice Renke had stayed the convictions temporarily until Dec. 15 to determine whether the Crown infringed on their rights to a trial within a reasonable time.  He ruled that even though it took longer than the 30 months mandated by the Supreme Court, the delays weren’t the Crown or court’s fault.  He dismissed all three accused’s Charter applications.

Favel, Maygard-Olynyk, and Omeasoo are in custody. They are expected to be sentenced in the new year.

Desjarlais’ burned remains were found in the ruins of Manny’s Motel, a low-income housing complex, a week after the motel fire on Jan. 14, 2020. He lived in unit 10 at Manny’s Motel. Eight units were occupied at the time of the fire. Maygard-Olynk was staying at Desjarlias’s place at the time.

Maygard-Olynyk said Favel was “top dog,” and that he was part of Favel’s “crew,” but Justice Renke, in his Dec. 12 written decision, said “Mr. Maygard-Olynyk was exaggerating, and he knew it… Mr. Favel wasn’t a ‘top dog.’ He wasn’t running anything.”

Justice Renke also said, “True, they were not living rough on the street or in an encampment. But they were homeless. At the time of the events at Manny’s, they were living in other people’s places.

“At Mr. Desjarlais’ unit, Mr. Maygard-Olynyk and Ms. Morton had a storage closet,” said Justice Renke. “They had no incomes, no social assistance. They bought groceries with whatever they could earn from selling the drugs that they did not need to use themselves. This was true of Mr. Favel and Mr. Maygard-Olynyk and Ms. Morton. In cross-examination by Mr. Raponi, Mr. Maygard-Olynyk assented to the view that he was living a “party lifestyle” – get high, get up when you want, no need to work. There was no party though. What was in evidence was grinding poverty, hunger, scrounging to get drugs, hoping to score enough drugs to have some extra to sell, hoping someone will let you stay the night. This was life for Mr. Maygard-Olynyk, and for Mr. Favel.”

Before Desjarlais was killed, they were all sitting in the living room and drinking. Favel was also using heroin. Favel accused Desjarlais of taking his things and “lectured” him about “respect and being honest,” court documents show. He said his phone, some cigarettes, hash and some Percocet pills were missing.

After the attack, Favel said they better make it look like a robbery.

Cst. Benjamin Standish testified that he was on duty in Wetaskiwin with his partner when he saw Manny’s Motel at 4705-56 Street on fire. He alerted the fire department.

Wetaskiwin Fire Chief Jamie Wilkinson’s report said the fire started in unit 10 and it was arson.

On Jan. 21, 2020, a severely burned body was found in the fire debris.

The body was taken to the Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy. Cst. Julian Celms attended the autopsy. He seized a wire from the left leg of the body, a wire wrapped around the body’s throat, and a sock that was in the body’s mouth.

The body was identified as that of Desjarlais. His cause of death was either from the wires around his neck or the sock in his mouth. Either could have killed him.

The autopsy report said there were two sets of wires around his neck and metal wire around his left leg.

The medical examiner determined that Desjarlais had died before his body was burned.

“The perpetrator choked out Mr. Desjarlais then bound up his neck with the assistance of the other accuseds,” said Justice Renke.

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