"Douglas Plude showed no emotion as he pleaded guilty, through his attorney, to murdering his wife Genell. Plude admitted to drowning her by shoving her head in a toilet 11 years ago.
Plude's plea is part of a deal struck with the prosecution, in which they'll recommend he spend 20 years on probation but serve no future jail time.
Plude already spent several years in prison for the crime. He was convicted of intentional homicide back in 2002, but that conviction was overturned. He was scheduled to have another trial, but opted to plead guilty to the lesser charge of reckless homicide instead......
The original conviction was overturned because an expert witness exaggerated his credentials. But again, Plude now says he is guilty of the crime."
REPORTER COLBY ROBERTSON: NEWSLINE NINE;
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"EAGLE RIVER (WAOW) -- Guilty is the plea entered by the man accused of drowning his wife in their toilet. It's a crime that happened over a decade ago," the Newsline Nine story by reporter Colby Robertson published earlier today under the heading, "Man accused of drowning his wife in a toilet pleads guilty," begins.
"This case has been an endless saga of twists and turns. But, the victim's parents tell Newsline 9, this is the first time they've ever heard their former son-in law admit his guilt," the story continues.
"Douglas Plude showed no emotion as he pleaded guilty, through his attorney, to murdering his wife Genell. Plude admitted to drowning her by shoving her head in a toilet 11 years ago.
Plude's plea is part of a deal struck with the prosecution, in which they'll recommend he spend 20 years on probation but serve no future jail time.
Plude already spent several years in prison for the crime. He was convicted of intentional homicide back in 2002, but that conviction was overturned. He was scheduled to have another trial, but opted to plead guilty to the lesser charge of reckless homicide instead.
It's something the victim's parents, Lillian and Ken Johnson, have waited 11 years for. They say, "Now that we have all heard that he has said he's guilty his attorney has said it feels I don't know how to explain it I'm just shaking I can't believe it's finally been said publicly."
The original conviction was overturned because an expert witness exaggerated his credentials. But again, Plude now says he is guilty of the crime."
It's up to the judge to decide whether 20 years of probation is a fair sentence for Plude. That hearing will be held at the end of November."
The story can be found at:
http://www.waow.com/Global/story.asp?S=13175263
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be accessed at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
For a breakdown of some of the cases, issues and controversies this Blog is currently following, please turn to:
http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=120008354894645705&postID=8369513443994476774
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;