Boyfriend of 20-year-old shooting victim testifies pair was strangled by accused shortly before fatal shooting

The boyfriend of a 20-year-old woman who was fatally shot in a south Windsor neighbourhood three years ago took to the stand again Friday, providing jurors with disturbing testimony of Madisen Gingras' final hours alive.

Kyle Hanna, 29, Keermaro Rolle, 26, and Tomeko Vilneus, 28, are all charged with first-degree murder in connection with Gingras' death on April 1, 2020.

After spending the entirety of Thursday describing his involvement with the accused parties as a Crown witness, Jacob Reaume returned to the stand Friday who, following hours of further testimony, named which of the three individuals allegedly shot Gingras.

Reaume testified he and Gingras drove up to a local motel around 9 p.m. on the night of the shooting to engage in an illicit transaction with Hanna, Rolle, Vilneus and an unidentified fourth person.

Gingras was instructed to stay in the car and drive away from the scene if Reaume did not come out after 10 minutes, he explained.

Reaume said when he entered the motel room, things quickly turned chaotic. Upon meeting with the four individuals, Reaume added they claimed the meeting was a setup by his girlfriend — a claim which left Reaume confused.

Reaume went on to say the four individuals patted him down, forced him to empty his pockets and then held a gun to his head before zip tying his hands behind his back.

After spending about 15 minutes in the motel, Reaume said Vilneus strangled out with a strap. Reaume did not recall how long he was unconscious.

When he woke up, Reaume complied with the accused's demand to "get up and go to the bathroom," he said, adding he was repeatedly "begging" for his life.

Reaume said the unidentified fourth person, who had stepped outside to smoke, came back in the room after Reaume woke up and alerted the other three that "his girl is in the car."

According to Reaume, one of the four people grabbed Gingras from the car before Vilneus put a gun to her head and told her not to scream.

“They sat us both in the bathtub and Mr. Vilneus proceeded to play Russian roulette with us," said Reaume.

"[They kept asking] if I had anything to do with it or if I set anything up. They just wanted answers. I couldn’t answer the questions because I had no idea what was going on.”

Moments later, Reaume said Rolle alerted his associates that Gingras "admitted to something" but he is "not sure what."

Following a huddle between the accused individuals which lasted about six minutes, Reaume said Rolle used the same strap to strangle Gingras in the bathtub while her hands were zip tied.

Reaume estimates she was choked for about seven to eight minutes. After the choke was relaxed, Reaume said the accused asked him to clean the blood off her face that she had choked up.

Reaume recalled the unidentified fourth person stepping away to a nearby store. While they were gone, Reaume said, Vilneus gave Gingras a "loonie-sized piece" of fentynal while Rolle provided her with five cups of water to drink.

After about five minutes, Reaume added the fourth person returned. After engaging in another huddle discussion, he said the four individuals brought out two guns and told Reaume and Gingras they were "going for a ride."

Reaume testified he was instructed by the accused to drive to the area of Northwood and Cleary Streets, with Reaume in the driver's seat and Gingras in the front-seat passenger position.

According to Reaume, that's when Rolle shot Gingras in the back of the head.

Reaume went on to say he was also shot in the arm but he's "not sure how" since the accused jumped out of the car shortly after Gingras had been fatally shot.

At the time, CTV News Windsor reported officers had launched a homicide investigation after receiving reports of "gunfire in the 2200 block of Northway Avenue" shortly before 11 p.m. on April 1, 2020.

Police added a man, who was found in the immediate area with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound, was transported to hospital for medical treatmen

The trial, which started last week, is taking place in front of 14 jurors and could last up to three months.