WARNING: This story contains graphic descriptions of intimate partner violence.

After months of abuse, threats, manipulation and control by her partner, 24-year-old Marie “Mimi” Gabriel is done.

She told Jean-Bruno “Berno” Fenelon, 40, 16 years her senior, who started seeing her when she was 17, to leave her south Ottawa home with help, where she had fled with her two young children months earlier. from social services.

But it wasn’t working. She texted the man she was seeing saying that Fenelon wanted to fight with him and that he wasn’t leaving.

And he spoke on the phone with his best friend, Norlande Tassy, ​​who heard Gabriel’s last known words:

“Get out of my house!” he shouted. Then nothing. Tassy stayed on the line but never heard Gabriel’s voice again.

It was the morning of March 26, 2022. Gabriel was found dead by police two days later on the concrete floor of his basement, in a dried pool of his own blood.

Fenelon poses for Ottawa police forensic identification officers following his arrest in March 2022. (Ottawa police/Ontario Supreme Court)

A long day of negotiation

Late Friday night, in a dark, nearly empty courthouse, a jury of nine women and three men found Fenelon guilty of first-degree murder after a six-week trial in Ottawa Superior Court.

Fenelon was sentenced by Judge Ian Carter to life imprisonment with no parole for 25 years; This happens automatically in Canada when someone is convicted of first-degree murder.

The jury accepted evidence that it was Fenelon who, in a jealous rage, struck Gabriel in the head at least twice with a 30-pound dumbbell; Fatal blows were delivered almost immediately, with Gabriel already lying battered on the ground.

This came after Fenelon hit him, dragged him, and chased him through his basement; Evidence of this was found in the bloody footprints left by her bare feet on the concrete.

Strikes with the dumbbell were delivered with “violent force”; It was the kind of incident usually seen in car accidents or falls from a height, crown attorney Dallas Mack said in closing arguments. These were “clear indicators” of Fenelon’s intense hatred for Gabriel.

“This was personal,” Mack said.

A police officer heads out onto the ice at Petrie Island in March 2022 to retrieve one of Fenelon’s boats. Police searched after GPS data from Fenelon’s phone led them to the area. (Ottawa police/Ontario Supreme Court)

Evidence seized by police was destroyed

Later, Fenelon threw his clothes and boots, stained with Gabriel’s blood, onto Petrie Island off the banks of the Ottawa River. Homicide investigators tracked GPS snippets from Fenelon’s phone to the area and searched for days before finding them.

It was Fenelon who called 911 to report finding Gabriel’s body two days after the attack; She allegedly found Gabriel’s body for the first time while she was dropping off her children.

With its guilty verdict, the jury rejected Toronto-based defense lawyer Ari Goldkind’s argument in his closing argument that the Crown failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Goldkind argued that Fenelon had nothing to hide about the “toxic, terrible” nature of his relationship with Gabriel, and that he repeatedly told investigators that he had nothing to do with the crime and that he would not kill the mother of his children.

He also said it was unlikely that an “Incredible Hulk” like Fenelon would survive the fight without a single scratch.

Parents describe intense feelings of guilt

Following the guilty verdict, as Gabriel’s family and friends read victim impact statements, many in the courtroom wept, including most of the jurors and homicide detectives Guy Seguin and Jennifer McLinton (who is now working on another unit).

Gabriel’s mother, Fatou Gabriel, wrote that her guilt for not doing more to protect her daughter “kills me every day… pains me down to my bones… keeps me up every night.”

She asked her daughter “many times to come home, but she refused because she was afraid of Berno.”

His father, Andy Stone, called Fenelon a “woman-beating coward” who “shattered (Gabriel’s) character” even after killing him. But he also described his feelings of guilt.

“How can I begin to express my regret for not being the father he deserved? For not acting differently? He hurt my little daughter and I did nothing. I failed him,” he told the court.

Following victim impact statements, the Crown said Gabriel had the right to end the relationship and leave Fenelon, describing intimate partner violence as ‘a plague on our society’. (provided by Andy Stone)

‘Senseless brutality’

Gabriel’s older brother, David Gabriel, told Fenelon that he looked at him every day in the prisoner’s dock and hoped to see “some tinge of remorse.”

“But the past few weeks have confirmed to me that you are a sadistic sociopath and that you laughed at my father when he testified. You enjoyed seeing his pain.”

His younger brother, Ibn Stone, told Fenelon that he was “torturing” the family.

“You deserved your place behind bars, your freedom was taken away, and there could be no better fate for someone who acted with such senseless brutality.”

‘It was the right thing’

The family relaxed in front of the courthouse just before midnight.

“It was the right thing to do,” Andrew Stone said. “Twelve decent people, decent, decent people – they weren’t fooled. They didn’t believe his lies. They didn’t believe he was anyone else.”

She had a message for girls and women.

“If you’re with a guy and he’s being verbally and physically aggressive, run. Don’t tell him you’ll forgive him and won’t do it again because he’ll do it again. Run.

“And parents, listen to your children… Because you don’t want to be like me. I’m here talking to you right now, my daughter is dead. She’s completely gone. She’s dead.”

Support is available for those affected by intimate partner violence. You can find support services and local resources in Canada at: visit this website. If your situation is an emergency, call 911.