Before receiving his life sentence for the murder of his ex-wife, Hosea Amorus Puhya continued to burden the victim’s family by launching into a religious tirade to proclaim his innocence. Those close to Gisèle Itale Betondi had a strong message to send to victims of domestic violence.
“To all women who are experiencing domestic violence, I say to them: ‘Please don’t hesitate. End the relationship. Never, never, never. Never stay thinking that you are going to change it. Please leave quickly,” insisted Jannet Betondi, the mother of Gisèle Itale Betondi, in the press scrum.
Crown prosecutor Ms. Jade Couronne added in front of journalists. “Domestic violence is a social problem. We all have our part to play in countering this problem. The message is clear: this is unacceptable.”
“The message we send is: ‘If we catch them, they will be punished’. We did our job. The rest is up to all of society to participate in avoiding tragedies like that,” said his colleague Philippe Vallières-Roland, who made a point of saluting the sensitivity of Judge Catherine Perreault towards those close to the victim.
Hosea Amorus Puhya was a violent and very aggressive man. Gisèle Itale Betondi was finally out of her clutches in the winter of 2022. She lived alone with their children in accommodation unknown to her ex. But when she got out of prison, her ex-husband found her. A few days before the murder, he threatened to kill her twenty times on the phone. A terrifying call. She did not file a complaint at that time.
The killer stalked her. Then, one September morning, Hosea Amorus Puhya murdered the woman he could no longer have. An extremely violent murder committed in broad daylight, in a parking lot, while Gisèle was strapping the children into the car. Video of the murder was shown to the jury at trial. Blood-curdling images.
After just one day of deliberations, Hosea Amorus Puhya was found guilty of the first-degree murder of Gisèle Itale Betondi last week. The evidence was extremely strong. On Wednesday, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years.
The victim’s relatives gave moving and difficult testimonies to pay tribute to their Gisèle. When it was the killer’s turn to speak, he launched into a more or less coherent religious tirade. “God will reveal who killed Gisele,” he said. The assassin repeatedly spoke of having “lost” his “adored wife”.
A relative of the victim had enough in the room and started insulting the killer. “Bullshit! Shut up ! I’m not going to let you say that! “, she shouted, before being escorted towards the exit by the constable.
Gisèle’s mother deplored the killer’s arrogance. “He has shown no sign of regret for what he did,” she stressed in the press scrum.
Asked about her daughter, Ms. Betondi’s eyes lit up. “She was very intelligent. She wanted to be a lawyer,” she said.
Those close to Gisèle had nothing but good words about the justice system. “Victims of domestic violence can have confidence in the legal system. They should not be afraid to express themselves,” argued Gisèle’s brother.
Me Antonio Cabral and Me Vanessa Sadler defended the offender.
