Relatives of Daniel Armando Somoza-Gildia, who was killed by Frederic Silva in front of a bar in downtown Montreal in May 2017, testified Friday with emotion, sadness, but anger, police associate witnesses during comments on the conviction of the former organized crime hitman Become.
Posted at 2:32 pm.
Updated at 3:04 pm.
Silva, 42, wounded 28-year-old Concordia University student Somoza-Gildia with four bullets outside the bar after an argument broke out between the victim’s group of friends and the ex-Hitman.
Courtesy of Gazette
The victim, Daniel Armando Somoza-Gildia.
“No logical explanation can be found for such an unnecessary and cowardly act,” said the victim’s uncle, adding that his nephew was a young man “full of projects that would remain unfinished” and “he had all his life in front of him.” .
At the end of his speech, the witness made harsh remarks about Silva, the prosecutor, Mr.I However, Antoine Picche said that he understands the feelings that reside in family members.
“A large part of us is gone and will never return,” Daniel Somoza-Gildia’s mother said in a videoconference statement carried from the United States and broadcast on courtroom screens.
“He died on his own, I can’t have him. He (Silva) took the life of someone who meant nothing to him, but to many others that life meant the world,” said the victim. Mother wondered if she could ever forgive the murderer.
“We all have to answer to God one day for what we have done in our lives. And I don’t hate Frederick Silva. I hate that he took Daniel’s life. I hate what was done to my family. I hate that we will always feel this pain and miss Danielle for the rest of our lives,” she said.
Also on the screen, in front of a white wall, from a secret location, Frederic Silva listened attentively to the testimony.
has been sentenced to life imprisonment
Silva is already serving a life sentence for 25 years without the possibility of parole, for the murders of three men committed in the fall of 2018 and for the attempted murder of the late mafia Salvatore Scopa in February 2017.
Silva was due to be tried by a jury for the murder of Somoza-Gildia last spring, but as she has done in her previous filing, she acknowledged the prosecution’s evidence was probable and ended the proceedings itself. ,
He pleaded not guilty, but Superior Court Judge Mark David on Friday morning 2. but found guilty of murderI Degree of Daniel Armando Somoza-Gildia.
The specifics are important, because by not pleading not guilty, Silva upholds her appeal rights. The former murderer, who revoked the mandate of his former lawyers, represented himself on Friday morning. He is actively looking for a lawyer to represent him in the upcoming proceedings.
“I approached several lawyers. Many refused the mandate. I’m waiting for others to respond,” Frederick Silva told Judge David.
His sentence for the murder of Somoza-Gildia could be pronounced in the week of December 12, but we do know that Silva, who has already served a life sentence, does not benefit from ten years’ conditional release in the case. Will be able to lift
After briefing the victim’s family members on the next steps, Judge David said that in his 17-year term, he had “never faced a situation in which things were complicated and had to be done in the right way”. .
In late June, the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) and Sorte du Québec (SQ) announced that a senior figure in organized crime had started working with the police. Sources then told La Presse that it was Frederic Silva.
The latter returned his jacket after two of his relatives were killed last spring.
Investigators of key crimes and organized crime department of the SPVM, and their associates of crime against the person of SQ, have launched a crucial investigation that will last for several months and which could lead to the unraveling of a number of murders and other crimes. organized crime scene in recent years.
In addition, an alleged Silva partner, Giovanni Presta Jr., is on trial since Thursday for the first-degree murder of former Rockers member Sebastian Beauchamp in December 2018.
To reach Danielle Renaud, dial 514 285-7000, write to extension 4918, [email protected] or write to the postal address of press,
