Nightmare Invasion, Justice

A home invasion that had resulted in a violent trauma for a couple in Ottawa leading to a trial of the man who had committed atrocities against them during a nightmare they would never have imagined they would ever be part of, has now seen justice done. The intruder, Richard Blake, kept insisting throughout the trial, that his arrest was an instance of mistaken identity. The two victims had unhesitatingly identified him in a photo lineup from their hospital rooms.

They had endured a two hour captivity in their own home by a man wielding two knives, both of which he used on the man and woman who were celebrating a decade of marriage only to have their celebration turned by an utter stranger into a fight for their lives. Amalie Thomas came within a hairsbreadth of losing her life when Richard Blake slashed her throat as she sat bound to a chair, helpless and begging for her life.

Her husband had been slashed repeatedly in the chest by the intruder who ended up binding him with restraints as well. Despite which, Amalie Thomas's husband, Francois Renaud, was able finally to free himself and stumble out of his home to seek help from a nearby relative.  When police arrived they gave chase to a man driving the couple's SUV. He crashed the vehicle and took refuge in a tree, where a police dog sniffed him out and he was arrested.

Blood in the vehicle, on the two knives discovered there and on the attacker proved to be unmistakable evidence of his culpability. During the trial that ensued the attacker described the most absurd of tales in trying to convince the jury of his innocence. The SUV, he claimed, had been gifted to him by a generous stranger. He had 'discovered' the presence of the knives in the vehicle, and had placed on his head a cap with blood on it that must have belonged to the stranger.

A box cutter and latex gloves stained with his victims' blood were also in the vehicle. Similar restraints used by the attacker; duct tape, latex gloves and knives similar to those used in the attack, along with plastic zipties were found in his apartment.  A doctor testified that the throat slash suffered by Ms. Thomas came within a millimetre of severing her carotid artery, which would have meant certain death.

"Your verdict was predictable and justified", Ontario superior Court Justice Albert Roy informed the jury  once they delivered their verdict, finding Mr. Blake guilty. His next court appearance will be in March, when he will be sentenced for his crimes.