Montreal sportswriter Keri admits violence against ex-wife

MONTREAL — Two years after his arrest, Montreal sportswriter Jonah Keri pleaded guilty to a series of criminal charges on Monday for repeatedly threatening and physically assaulting his ex-wife.

As part of the guilty plea, Keri, 46, admitted to numerous instances of violence against his ex-wife and a minor, all detailed in an agreed statement of facts read in court.

They included hitting, headbutting, and biting his wife in the face, grabbing a kitchen knife and threatening to remove their unborn baby from her body and telling her he would throw her off a balcony.

Keri also told his wife he would kill her brother and father if she ever told them about the violence, the court heard, and on two occasions threatened to crash the car they were driving in.

One incident followed an argument the couple had over a trip Keri wanted to take in the fall of 2018.

“Mr. Keri spits in her face. He threatens to hit her in the stomach (while she is pregnant). He then hits her with two open hands at ear-level,” the statement says of the incident.

The next day, it continues, “while driving Mr. Keri weaves between lanes, and threatens to push (his wife) out the door, as well as crash the vehicle and kill both of them.”

In another violent outburst, a few weeks later, the court heard how Keri’s wife tried to explain to him why she was afraid of him. After an argument ensued, he headbutted her several times, breaking her nose.

“Mr. Keri states that he hopes her and the baby die,” the document says of the assault. “He then states there are knives in the apartment and she won’t survive her pregnancy.”

In all, the statement of facts detailed more than a dozen

instances of verbal and physical abuse between July 2018 and January 2019. Asked by the presiding judge whether he admits to the incidents described, Keri whispered in court: “Yes, your honour.”

In a separate file, Keri also pleaded guilty to charges of assaulting a minor. The minor’s identity is covered by a

publication ban.