'We were playing Russian roulette': Windsor man admits to killing his best friend
A judge has accepted a guilty plea into the shooting death of a Windsor man back in March 2017.
In Superior Court Tuesday, William Green, 58, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of Michael Holmberg, 59.
“It’s a horrible situation,” defence lawyer Dan Scott told the media outside the courthouse. “These guys were drunk.”
Assistant crown attorney Jennifer Holmes read in an Agreed Statement of Facts for the court about what happened.
Court heard on the evening of March 17, into the 18th, Green and Holmberg were drinking together at a home on Elsmere Avenue in Windsor.
Green has admitted he consumed a “considerable” amount of alcohol that day, before continuing to drink when Holmberg arrived at his house.
“Holmberg brought the handgun to the party,” according to Scott. “There were statements in the disclosure that suggested that this was not their first time wandering down the path of playing Russian roulette.”
Court heard the men would take turns spinning the chamber on the revolver and then raising the gun to their heads.
Holmes says Green took the weapon from Holmberg and instead of spinning the chamber, the firearm was discharged.
Court heard Holmberg was shot “all in one bullet track” which went through his left arm, and stopped in his torso.
The weapon, according to Holmes, was a short-barrel black revolver, Smith & Wesson .38 Special, which is a prohibited gun.
Police were called just after midnight, for a “report of a person shot.”
When police got there, Green was on the front porch holding a cellphone and he advised officers Holmberg was inside on the couch.
“He shot himself,” Green told police. “We were playing Russian Roulette.”
Holmberg was pronounced dead at hospital at 5:55 a.m., and court heard Green was arrested and charged with murder at 7:23 a.m.
Green was facing five offences including second degree murder, possession of a firearm, unauthorized possession of a firearm, careless use and storage of a firearm and assault.
He pleaded not guilty before Justice Bruce Thomas, and then pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter.
“Intoxication reduces murder to manslaughter,” says Scott. “Its incorporated in the code (Criminal Code of Canada). Because if you’re intoxicated, you can’t form the intent that’s required to commit murder.”
Justice Thomas will hear sentencing submissions on Jan. 10.
“I’m asking for five years,” says Scott.
Green has been on house arrest since he got bail in April 2017.
“There’s some law to suggest that because his liberty was restricted he’ll get credit for it,” Scott says.
Holmes declined to comment Tuesday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
Humanist group threatening to sue Vancouver over council prayers
The B.C. Humanist Association has threatened legal action against the City of Vancouver for allowing prayers at council, following a similar warning issued earlier this month to a smaller community on Vancouver Island.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
LHSC performs a Canadian first in robot-assisted direct lateral spine surgery
Spine surgery may never be the same for people with chronic back pain and other physical ailments.