Fourth inmate charged in Ottawa jailhouse homicide
An inmate who police allege served as lookout during a jailhouse homicide has been charged with murder.
Yaheya Benamiar, 19, is now the fourth Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre inmate to be charged with first-degree murder for the beating death of accused killer Marco Michaud.
Michaud, 36, was pronounced dead May 4 after he was taken off life support. He suffered extensive head injuries in the April 11 beating, which left him brain-dead. He was put into an induced coma and underwent multiple surgeries after the attack before he succumbed to his injuries.
Mohamed Barkhadle, 32, Pierre Senatus, 22, and Jimmy St. Hilaire, 19, have also been charged with first-degree murder for the jailhouse homicide.
No weapons are believed to have been used in the attack, which was captured on OttawaCarleton Detention Centre security cameras, but police believe the fight was planned and that the inmates orchestrated getting Michaud alone.
It’s not yet known what prompted the attack, but several people who were close to the victim have told this newspaper that in the days leading up to the killing Michaud voiced concerns about being scared in jail and feared being set up by other inmates.
Benamiar was in the Ottawa jail awaiting trial for the daytime shooting of a 35-year-old man on March 24 in Little Italy.
For that shooting, Benamiar was charged with attempted murder, discharge of a firearm, use of a firearm in the commission of an offence, and carrying a concealed weapon.
He was also charged with possession of cocaine for the purposes of trafficking and possession of the proceeds of crime.
Michaud was in detention awaiting trial on a charge of second-degree murder.
He had turned himself in to homicide detectives on Feb. 24 after police obtained a warrant for his arrest for what was ultimately a fatal beating in Vanier. Detectives allege Michaud attacked 53-yearold Gerald Leduc inside Leduc’s Selkirk Street apartment in July 2017. The alleged drug-related beating left Leduc in a coma for six months. He succumbed to his injuries in January.
Michaud had been housed for just six weeks before the attack on him.
All four accused in the jailhouse beating remain in custody.