Bill Horace: Why an accused Liberian warlord was killed in Canada
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Loading... - Bright Larbi
- 16 Aug 2022
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It was the early hours before dawn when Bill Horace and his wife Joyce awoke to the sound of breaking glass.
They had been sleeping in their pink split-level home in London, Ontario, which they shared with their children Royce and Kobe, ages 9 and 4, when four armed men broke through the basement window.
It was Father's Day.
A struggle ensued, and shots were fired, with several bullets hitting Horace, who dragged himself outside to seek help. The men ran away after taking C$20,000 ($15,300; £13,000) in cash.
He died later in hospital.
News of the shooting - in a town of 400,000, about two hours from Toronto - made headlines, not just because of the violent nature of the attack but because of the identity of the victim. Bill Horace was an accused warlord in his home country of Liberia.
Although he was never charged with war crimes in Liberia or Canada, several people have identified him as a commander in former Liberian president Charles Taylor's army.
Taylor was convicted of crimes against humanity in the neighbouring country of Sierra Leone and is serving a 50-year sentence.
At first, many wondered if the shooting had been retaliation for Horace's alleged past sins.
Instead, police believe that Horace had become embroiled with criminals in his adopted country, and that he died as a result of his entanglement with a network of fraudsters.
Keiron Gregory, 23, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and breaking and entering on Monday.
The other three accused remain at large and have not been publicly identified. Read More...
