Hamilton-area cases of intimate-partner homicides match national patterns

WARNING: This story contains graphic details of violence. 

More than 10 cases from the Hamilton area were part of the nearly 400 instances of intimate-partner homicides that CBC looked at in a lengthy investigation released Monday.

Researchers compiled 392 cases from across Canada that occurred between Jan. 1, 2015, and June 30, 2020, where charges were or could have been laid. 

CBC's 16-month investigation, Deadly Relationships, resulted in several key findings. Many of the themes that emerged are reflected in local cases. Here's a look at some of those and how they compare to CBC's research:

Victim: John Allan Liggins, 44 Accused: Tara Lynn Koiter, 32  Relationship: Spouse Location: Brantford Date: Feb. 6, 2016

Media reports in the Brantford Expositor described the couple's relationship as "sometimes violent," stating that a friend testified in court that Liggins didn't allow Koiter to have a driver's licence, bank account or to spend money. They had been drinking and got into a fight; Koiter had disclosed she thought she was pregnant. She told police Liggins choked her until she was unconscious, then she stabbed him after she regained consciousness. The court heard from an expert who said Koiter appeared to be a victim of abuse. 

Koiter pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to three-and-a-half years, which was time she had already served.

How it's linked: CBC's investigation found that one in four women who killed their partners were abused by their partners.

Victim: Natasha Thompson, 36 Accused: Mark Champagne, 45 Relationship: Girlfriend Location: Hamilton Date: Nov. 6, 2017

Neighbours say they heard Thompson and Champagne arguing outside their unit before Thompson was shot 10 times, including three times in the head from less than a metre away. Thompson's adult daughter testified at the trial that the couple had argued on several occasions, and that just before the shooting, Thompson had told Champagne she'd like him to leave for good and she planned to have an abortion. The last thing she says she heard her mom say was, "'Are you threatening me?'"

Champagne was found guilty of second-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence. He had previously been convicted of attempted murder, in 1998.

How it's linked: A recent separation was the most common warning sign CBC found in its investigation. It also found that Canadians between ages 20 and 40 are over-represented among victims of intimate-partner homicide, making up 41 per cent of victims. By comparison, that age group represents 27 per cent of the population. 

Victim: Renee Neganiwina, 26 Accused: Joseph Snelgrove, 37 Relationship: Girlfriend Location: Hamilton Date: March 25, 2015

Neganiwina died after Snelgrove, angry, doused a couch with flammable liquid and lit it on fire. He claims he didn't intend to kill her and did not know she had taken sleeping pills and alcohol, so wouldn't hear the smoke alarm.