Latest news with #RichardMantha
CBC
07-06-2025
- CBC
Dead woman's police statement not admissible in trial of alleged serial rapist
The evidence of a Calgary woman who told police she'd been kidnapped, drugged and sexually assaulted by an alleged serial rapist can not be considered at his trial because she died in tragic circumstances and can't be cross-examined. Richard Mantha is on trial, facing 20 charges related to allegations he sexually assaulted seven women, most of whom were vulnerable sex-trade workers at the time. One of those women, whom CBC News is calling LM in order to comply with a publication ban, died in a tragic accident in December. CBC News is not publishing details of her death because they would identify the woman, whose identity remains protected by a publication ban. On Friday, Justice Judith Shriar ruled the alleged victim's statement to police is not admissible because of concerns over its reliability. LM told police she'd spoken with other women on the street about the case. Because of her death, defence lawyer Justin Dean wouldn't get the chance to question her about the unsworn statement. Last month, prosecutor Dominique Mathurin played a video-taped statement LM gave to police, who were investigating Mantha at the time. In the video, LM told Staff Sgt. Shelby Stewart that, in April 2022, she was dumped on the side of the road after escaping an RV inside a quonset hut east of the city. 'The second girl' She was picked up by an RCMP officer who told LM that she was "the second girl that happened to" in the last week. The officer did not take the woman to a detachment for a statement. Instead, he dropped her off at a CTrain station in Calgary. About a year later, Mantha was being investigated by Calgary police and, in the course of that investigation, Stewart learned of LM's interaction with the RCMP. LM told Stewart that a man, whom the Crown alleges was Mantha, picked her up and offered her a ride to a CTrain station. It was raining and LM said yes. The man gave LM a Sprite, which she told police caused her to black out. LM fought off attacker LM told the officer that she woke up in an RV naked, except for her bra. She said she fought the man off and threatened to stab him. LM said she found her knife and demanded he drive her back to where he'd picked her up. As they left the RV, LM said she realized the vehicle was inside a quonset. Court has already heard evidence that Mantha was living in an RV inside a quonset on a property east of the city near Langdon. Once on the road, LM said the man shoved her out of the truck and left her on the side of the road. When asked to point out the location of the quonset on a map, LM identified Mantha's rental property as the place she'd been taken. The case is back for trial continuation in July.
CBC
24-05-2025
- CBC
'You've been very brave': Final two women testify at trial of alleged serial rapist
Social Sharing WARNING: Court proceedings include allegations of sexual assault and might affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone who's been affected. The trial for alleged serial rapist Richard Mantha heard from the final two women the Crown alleges were victimized by the 61-year-old who faces 20 charges, including sexual assault with a weapon, kidnapping and administering noxious substances. Both women are extremely vulnerable; struggling with drug addiction, homelessness and poverty. A publication ban protects their identities. CBC News will call them Sam and Anna. The toll it took on both women to show up at court to testify was obvious. 'I didn't get to say yes or no' On Friday, Sam sobbed as she made her way to the stand. But she appeared to get stronger throughout the day. Sam told Justice Judith Shriar she met Mantha, a man she knew as "Poncho," in Forest Lawn when he picked her up in a truck. "He just said he would help me out, give me some dope," she told prosecutor Dominique Mathurin. Mantha took her to his RV that was parked inside a Quonset hut on a rented property east of the city. Sam said Mantha washed her and then began having sex with her. "I was under the impression that he was just going to help me, I didn't think I had to do anything sexually," she said. "I didn't get to choose that … I didn't get to say yes or no, it was happening." 'I didn't want it' Sam said she tried to close her legs but "he just pulled me closer to him, he's a little more aggressive." "I guess he liked the fact that I didn't want it and he was able to take it from me." Sam said Mantha didn't speak to her "at all." She said she was too afraid to say anything to Mantha. "I didn't want to say the wrong thing and be another statistic ... like dead." One day earlier, a 24-year-old Anna was called to the witness stand. Anna takes the stand Speaking barely above a whisper, Anna kept looking over at Mantha in the prisoner's box. Then, she shut down, unable to answer questions. Court took a break. "The goal here is not to make things worse for her," said Justice Shriar. After a lengthy adjournment, Anna returned. Clerks had added a screen blocking Anna's view of Mantha. She spoke in short sentences, often offering one or two word responses. Photos shown to Anna Prosecutor Dominique Mathurin showed Anna photos that she identified as herself. They were screen grabs of a sex video found on one of Mantha's electronic devices. Anna said she was "100 per cent" sure it was her face and tattoo in the image but she said, "these pictures, I don't remember them." Then Mathurin asked Anna if she and Mantha had sex. Anna said they had. "Did you want to?" asked the prosecutor. Anna answered, "No." 'You've been very brave' When defence lawyer Justin Dean cross-examined Anna, she confirmed she uses fentanyl every few hours and had done so before she testified. Anna started crying. "You've been very brave," said Shriar. "Do you need a rest?" Anna declined. "I'm tired. I want to finish this so I can go home." Dean continued, suggesting Anna had sex in Mantha's RV in exchange for drugs or money. "Would you agree with that?" he asked. She whispered, "Yes." "Did you consent to have sex with Mr. Mantha?" asked Dean. Again she whispered, "Yes." The trial is expected to last one more week.
CBC
22-05-2025
- CBC
'I didn't think anyone cared': Court hears from 5th alleged victim of serial rapist
Social Sharing WARNING: Court proceedings include allegations of sexual assault and might affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone who's been affected. When a Calgary police detective sat down to interview a woman one year after she said she was kidnapped, drugged and sexually assaulted, the victim told the officer: "I didn't think anybody cared." The woman is one of the alleged victims of accused serial rapist Richard Mantha. CBC News is calling the woman LM in order to comply with a publication ban. In April 2022, after being dumped on the side of the road following her escape from an RV inside a Quonset hut where she'd woken up naked, LM was picked up by an RCMP officer. The officer told her she was the "second girl that happened to" in a week. But instead of taking her statement, the officer dropped LM off at a CTrain station in Calgary. "It was like he didn't seem like he really cared," LM said. LM is one of seven women the Crown alleges was victimized by Mantha, who is on trial facing 20 charges, including sexual assault with a weapon, administering a noxious substance and kidnapping. In March 2023, LM was interviewed by Staff Staff Sgt. Shelby Stewart about the April 2022 incident. LM died before trial In December, she died in a tragic accident in Calgary. For that reason, LM's videotaped interview with police was played in court on Wednesday. LM told Stewart that she was waiting for a bus in Forest Lawn when a man — who the Crown alleges was Mantha — began circling in a pickup truck, eventually stopping to ask if she wanted a ride. It was raining and LM said she asked for a ride to the Franklin CTrain Station. When she got in the car, the man asked if she was thirsty and offered her a Sprite. "It looked like it hadn't been opened," she said. 'A gun on the table' LM took a couple of big gulps. "That was all I remember … I was out," said LM. "I thought … he must have put something in it." LM said the man seemed surprised she'd woken up. She said she was naked except for her bra. The man from the truck was holding a vibrator. He was smiling. "I started to freak out," LM told Stewart. "He had a gun on the table and he told me to shut up or he was gonna shoot me in the face." 'I kicked him' But LM believed it was an airsoft gun and she began to fight for her escape. "I kicked him as hard as I could in the chest, and I did actually have a weapon on me then and I told him, 'I'm well known on the streets.'" She told her attacker, "I'm not scared to just start stabbing you." LM found her knife and said the man allowed her to get dressed. She demanded he drive her back to where she'd been picked up. As they left the recreational vehicle, LM realized she'd been driven into a Quonset hut. 'What he would have done' As they pulled out of the Quonset, LM began looking around, trying to study her surroundings. She believes the man caught her looking around. LM told Stewart that the man undid her seatbelt, opened the passenger door and shoved her out of the truck. "I think he tried to run over me but I rolled," she told the officer. LM began walking toward the community of Langdon, about 15 kilometres east of Calgary. Eventually a woman pulled over and called RCMP. After the officer dropped her off in Calgary, LM said she saw the same man in Forest Lawn. She was scared. "All I was thinking about was what he would have done if I hadn't waked up." 'We think we know who it is' LM was then able to point out on a map where she'd been taken that day in April 2022. The location was on Vale View Road. It was the same location on the same road where Mantha had been renting a Quonset from an acreage owner. LM was curious about why Calgary police were talking to her now? And how did they find her? "How did you guys find out about it," she asked Stewart. 'It took a lot of courage' The officer explained that she and her partner had begun looking at files with similarities. They got her name through RCMP. "We think we know who he is," she told LM. "We're working really hard to make sure no other girls get hurt.… I want you to know that. I know that it took a lot of courage." Mantha was arrested and charged 10 days later. If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911. For support in your area, you can look for crisis lines and local services via the .
CBC
20-05-2025
- CBC
Landlord testifies 37,000 lb. of trash removed from property rented by alleged serial rapist
The man accused of raping vulnerable Calgary women turned his rented Quonset hut into "the worst crack shack you've ever seen in your life," according to the property owner, who testified that more than 37,000 pounds of garbage was removed from his acreage after Richard Mantha's arrest. Mantha, 61, faces 20 charges, accused of victimizing seven women, six of whom worked in Calgary's sex trade. His offences include sexual assault with a weapon, administering noxious substances and kidnapping. Mantha's trial began in January 2024 but was derailed, first when he fired his lawyers halfway through the trial and then again after he suffered a stroke in May 2024. 'The worst hoarder' The trial resumed Tuesday with testimony from Paul Lock, who owns an acreage in Rockyview County between Chestermere and Langdon where Mantha rented a Quonset hut from late 2021 until his arrest in June 2023. Justice Judith Shriar has already heard from several women who said they were victimized inside Mantha's RV, which was stored in the Quonset. Lock testified that by the time Mantha was arrested, the two were "no longer on talking terms" to the point that he avoided the rented Quonset because "one of us was going to end up in jail for killing the other." Although renting to Mantha had become a nightmare, Lock said he had no idea how bad the situation inside the Quonset was until police arrived to search the property. Mantha was, according to Lock, "probably the worst hoarder that I've ever met in my life." "He considered himself 'the Highway Hobo.' So if it wasn't bolted down, he'd take it," Lock told prosecutor Dominique Mathurin. $33,000 to remove garbage Lock said that since 2023, he's paid $33,000 to clean up his property, which involved removing 37,426 lb. (16,976 kg) of garbage, including some biohazard waste. Police took several days to haul all of Mantha's property out of the Quonset in the course of executing a search warrant in connection with the sex assault allegations. "My backyard looked like a landfill," said Lock. Mantha's landlord described finding 200 crack pipes, buckets of human waste, dead animals, bags of clothing, scrap metal and wood, bricks, tiles, construction materials, tools and a shopping cart. There were also several scrap cars, trucks and motorcycles. 'Sanctuary turned into a sewage hole' Mantha also angered Lock by bringing women to the property. "He was not to bring people there but he did, that's why we were at odds," said Lock. "I know what an addict looks like … he was bringing them to my property to party or whatever they were doing, I'm not sure." Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Justin Dean, Lock agreed that the majority of his animosity toward Mantha came after his arrest. "Yes, because the sanctuary turned into a sewage hole," said Lock. Two weeks have been set aside to complete the trial. A fifth complainant is scheduled to testify in the coming days. Mantha's stroke has left him unable to speak in full sentences. An application to have him deemed medically unfit to stand trial failed. Mantha is now using an iPad to communicate with his lawyer.
CTV News
20-05-2025
- CTV News
Trial resumes for accused Calgary-area serial rapist and kidnapper
Richard Mantha is seen in a sketch from his first court appearance on April 12, 2023. (CTV Calgary/Damien Wood)
