Jury deciding alleged killer's fate unaware of eerily-similar crime
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A jury now deciding whether drug addict Ian Albert Ohab murdered Melissa Cooper never heard that he once committed what the prosecution described as a “strikingly similar offence” against another woman.
A jury will resume deliberating Thursday morning at 9 a.m. on the second-degree murder case against Ohab, 41, in Coopers April, 2016 death.
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The prosecution suggested Ohab could have been motivated by sex, crack cocaine or cash when he killed Cooper. The robbery would have enabled him to purchase some heroin.
Ohab has already admitted to dismembering Cooper’s body but denied killing her. He testified Cooper accepted an invitation to his place, smoked some crack and then died of an overdose. Three months earlier, his live-in girlfriend Aneta Famula, then 35, died of a fentanyl overdose in their home.
Crown attorneys Bev Richards and Alannah Grady wanted to introduce Ohab’s and Famula’s violent offences against another woman who came to their Oak St. apartment to purchase alcohol in March 2013 because they argued it had “striking similarities” to Cooper’s slaying.
Justice Suhail Akhtar concluded the evidence was far “too prejudicial” to Ohab’s fair trial rights and jurors never heard this evidence.
Ohab and Famula pleaded guilty in 2014 to assaulting, confining and theft under $5,000. They received time served sentences.
Ohab invited the victim and her friend, both strangers to Ohab and Famula, to their home “to party with them,” said Crown attorney Linda Shin in 2014.
The friend left but when the victim attempted to exit, Ohab “picked up a knife and blocked her path,” holding her hostage for two days, said Shin.
“Ohab advised her she owed him money — and she was going to pay one way or another. He would kill her if she didn’t pay or have Famula do it while he watched,” said Shin.
“Ohab brandished a knife and a baseball bat,” said Shin. The victim feared for her life so she didn’t flee.
“Ohab directed Famula to steal the victim’s valuables and Famula did so, including her prescription eyeglasses and her cellular phone,” said Shin.
The victim left the apartment and reported the crime in May 2013.
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spazzano@postmedia.com
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