The Judith Brassard Case (october 24, 2014)

Source: ACDV Editorial
Author: Marion Laurençon (original publication in French)
October 14, 2014
Translation: Kyleigh Lapierre for CART / ACDV

Judith Brassard, a Canadian citizen, is currently incarcerated in Colombia, accused of ordering the murder of her former husband, Felipe Rojas Gnecco.

Judith and Felipe were married in 1994 in Québec and settled in Santa Marta, Colombia. Two children were born from their union, Mariana and Felipe David. Felipe, an orthodontist and member of an prominent family of Santa Marta, was killed on December 4, 2006 as he left his office, while Judith was in Canada.

The murderer, Gabriel Ramirez Polo and his accomplice were arrested a few months later. They confessed to have been hired by a former paramilitary, John Osorio, who happens to be the husband of Katherine Pitre, the maid who was employed by Judith Brassard in Santa Marta. Gabriel and his accomplice, John and Katherine, were all four convicted of the murder of Felipe and sentenced to a severe prison sentence. All that remained was to find the mastermind of the murder.

First called by investigators as a witness, Judith returned to Colombia, and was arrested on August 27, 2008 on the basis of the testimonies of John Osorio and Katherine Pitre, who accused her of ordering the death of Felipe. Judith Brassard was then placed in a preventive home in Santa Marta.

In February 2009, the judges sentenced her to 28 years of criminal detention and $ 2 million in damages, despite retractions (before the hearing) of J. Osorio and K. Pitre’s testimonies. The sentence was upheld on appeal in 2010 and by the Supreme Court in 2014.

All appeals before the Colombian courts have been exhausted.

Inconsistent foundations of prosecution

– According to the Supreme Court, Judith Brassard is the only person who would have reason to order the murder of the victim and of that could have been benefited from his death.

– Judith began her divorce proceedings in 2006 during a trip to Quebec. Her lawyer told her that there was no agreement between Canada and Colombia on family property. Judith then went to Miami and emptied the bank account of her spouse ($ 119 million) by forging his signature. She also called Katerine Pitre asking her to send her jewelery.

– After the death of her husband, Judith claimed her share of the money from the life insurance, under the advice of Jose Raphael Rojas, brother of Felipe. However, Judith ensured that only her children could benefit. She then gave them a portion of the insurance proceeds, and with the remainder, she contracted a life insurance policy which named her children the beneficiaries.

– For justice and the Colombian press, as well as for the family of Felipe, Judith Brassard was motivated by a desire to divorce from her husband and to recover her money. Nicknamed “black widow”, Judith Brassard is portrayed by the Colombia press as the designated culprit.

– The prosecution relied on the false testimonies of John Osorio and Katherine Pitre.

In the first version of his testimony, John Osorio said he had an appointment with Judith in July 2006 in Colombia, although she was in Canada. He also said he had received a call from Judith from Panama, on the eve of the murder. However Judith’s lawyer, Gustavo Gonzales Ramez, presented the evidence that Judith had never been to Panama and that no such call had taken place; Judith’s phone had remained in Santa Marta. Furthermore, there was no trace of the 4000 dollars that Judith had allegedly promised J. Osorio for the murder of her husband.

Although John Osorio and Katherine Pitre retracted their testimonies, the judges decided not to exclude these false testimonies and kept them as a basis for conviction.

Unexplored potential leads

In another trial, a witness had been questioned about the case of Felipe Rojas. He said that the murder of Felipe was a crime of passion because the latter maintained a relationship with the wife of a paramilitary commander.

The hitman, Gabriel Ramirez Polo claimed to have seen the brother of Felipe, Juan Miguel Rojas, deliver a package to Osorio, which would correspond to the balance of the money for the murder. Gabriel said that his accomplices had confirmed that it was indeed the brother who killed Felipe.

According to John Osorio, Felipe was killed because his office was laundering money from drug trafficking and that he owed $ 100 million to paramilitary leaders.

These testimonies could have led the Columbian authorities down many different paths some of which would have furthered the investigation in the right direction. However, the Colombian authorities chose not to explore these avenues.

Pressure and influence from the family of the deceased

The family of Felipe openly expressed their desire that Judith be convicted and they would have been the source of intense pressure that would question the independence of the Colombian judicial system.

Sandra Calero Valdez, director of the prison in Santa Marta, would have been pressured by the Rojas family to transfer Judith into a maximum security prison located more than 1,000 km from Santa Marta. The objective was to prevent Judith to see her children. After refusing, Sandra Valdez was fired.

Juan Raphael Rojas allegedly asked Adriana Sanchez Comaz to pressure the hitman, Gabriel Ramirez Polo, to accuse Judith of the murder. Adriana wanted to testify on this request, but the judge refused.

The staggering statement of the Attorney General

When brought before the Supreme Court into the matter of Judith Brassard, the prosecution :
– raised the complete absence of evidence.
– questioned the credibility adjudged by the court of the declarations of John Osorio.
– raised the evidence showing that the testimonies of Osorio and of K. Pitre were false.

The Attorney General therefore asked that the principle of reasonable doubt be applied and urged the Supreme court to quash the sentence and release Judith Brassard.

Means available to Judith Brassard today

Following the ruling of the Court of Appeal, Judith and her family appealed to the Canadian government. The latter responded that as long as internal remedies have not been exhausted, it could not interfere with Colombian justice. Now that all remedies have been exhausted, only international justice and a eventual intervention of the Canadian government could help advance the case.

TIMELINE :