Past victim horrified by murder charge
Solea Wilson recalls attack by man now accused in Hamilton mother’s death
The shooting death of a 36-year-old Hamilton mother has left Solea Wilson in shock, flashing back to the moment she was nearly killed 19 years ago.
“It’s a nightmare that I’m thrown back into,” she said.
Wilson never knew Natasha Thompson, who died after being shot multiple times in the doorway to her neighbour’s Lang Street house around 5:15 p.m. Monday. But she does know Thompson’s 41-year-old boyfriend who is accused of killing her during an argument that spilled out of their townhouse unit.
Mark Joseph Champagne was 22 on Aug. 4, 1998, when he stabbed Wilson, then 31, and slashed her five-year-old son who, Wilson said, “thought he was batman” and tried to stop the attack.
Champagne and Wilson had been dating about eight months when the violent attack happened inside her Markham home.
“I don’t know how I made it outside,” she said, remembering the stabbing. “I just remember the blood and I couldn’t figure out why my earring was on my shoulder.”
Her ear had to be sewn back on and she still has scars to her neck and left arm from being stabbed multiple times.
Wilson said she spent most of her relationship with Champagne trying to leave, but unable because she feared for her life.
Champagne was convicted of attempted murder and aggravated assault. According to court documents he was sentenced in 2000 to a little over 13 years. After credit for time served in
pretrial custody, the balance was nine years and nine months.
However, it’s unclear how long Champagne actually served in prison and what programming he may have completed.
Champagne turned himself in to Toronto police around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday.
After news of his arrest broke, Wilson said her phone rang. It was her daughter warning her not to turn on the TV.
She would know Champagne’s face anywhere.
“It’s like I’m living Aug. 4, 1998, all over again,” she said, adding that the shock has made her feel like her stab wounds are burning again.
There are parallels between the cases. Both relationships were less than a year old, Champagne quickly moved in with both women, both women had children in the house.
It is not clear what Thompson knew of Champagne’s past. Police have said there was no documented history of domestic abuse between Champagne and Thompson.
Wilson said she now feels guilty and angry. Why did she live, while Thompson died?
Champagne contacted her over Facebook this summer, allegedly to make amends. She did not meet with him. Should she have called police?
She called Champagne “a monster” and believes he should never have been allowed out of prison. She believes the justice system should do more to protect victims.
The justice system often fails women who are victims of violence, including low conviction rates on sexual assault and intimate partner violence, said Yolisa de Jager, director of women’s services at Good Shepherd and co-chair of the Women Abuse Working Group.
“If he had served his sentence that’s the system in which we work,” she said. “We may know somebody has an abusive past but, according to the justice system, they have done their time.”
That’s why violence-against-women agencies work with women to recognize the signs of control and violence that can indicate someone is in danger, she said.
When she heard about Thompson’s death she said her immediate thought was “again we have a woman that’s been murdered.”
“I was thinking about how pervasive this gender inequity is within our culture,” she said, adding that it still remains a “blind spot” people don’t want to talk about despite the fact that shelters are full and women are constantly calling their crisis lines.
Previous domestic violence is a warning sign that more violence is possible. But there are other warning signs, too, everything from controlling behaviour, to constant jealousy, to threats.
One of the biggest questions front-line staff ask is whether a woman believes her partner is capable of killing, de Jager said.
Women are particularly at risk of violence when they decide to leave a partner, which is why social service agencies work on safety plans.
It’s not clear exactly what the argument between Champagne and Thompson was about before the shooting Monday. Hamilton police homicide unit Det. Sgt. Peter Thom would only say it was a “verbal argument about personal issues.”
Police conducted a ground search near the crime scene Tuesday, but have not recovered the weapon.
It’s “like a needle in a haystack,” Thom said, adding that it’s unclear where during the 11 hours before Champagne turned himself in to Toronto police that the weapon was allegedly tossed.
If anyone finds evidence possibly connected to the homicide they should not touch it and call police.
Anyone with information on the homicide is asked to contact homicide unit Det. Ross Johnson at 905546-3827. To provide information anonymously, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.