Sobering second thoughts

Somebody got murdered

And it' left me with a touch

Somebody got murdered

Somebody's dead forever

- The Clash

An intoxicated and stoned Gould punched and stomped the 18-year-old to death on April 23, 2007 in his Dorval apartment he shared with his girlfriend at the time who was friends with the victim. Esquivel-Moya was attacked following an argument during a party. Gould’s defence, successfully argued in court, was that he didn’t mean to kill the young woman and that he was too intoxicated, from doing ecstasy, smoking pot, drinking beer and whisky, to know what he was doing. Apparently drinking to excess to such an extent you cannot think rationally can clear you of murder these days. If this defence is acceptable as the law stands, and there have been a couple of similar cases as well, then the criminal code needs to be toughened up so drunks and drug users will be held responsible for their actions and face the penalties they deserve, especially when they take another life.

While no one doubts he was ‘blitzed’ at the time he punched and then crushed Esquivel-Moya’s head while she lay motionless on the floor, Gould knew enough to flee the scene and grab a bus and then go into hiding. Police arrested Gould 10 days after the incident and four days after Esquivel-Moya’s funeral.

With time served while waiting for trial counting double, Gould might serve less than 12 more months of incarceration with the manslaughter conviction. Sentencing arguments commence May 1. No word yet if the Crown will appeal the manslaughter verdict but that’s unlikely to occur unless they can point out some error in the legal proceedings. As it stands, lacklustre justice has been meted out.