Manitoba Justice
To view PDF files, you must have a copy of the Adobe Acrobat Reader which is available as a free download.
Compensation
Evidence of Jackie Henke
Jackie Henke stated that she and Thomas Sophonow had been friends and that she had no reason to lie about anything to do with her previous relationship with him. I found her to be extremely hostile towards Thomas Sophonow. She described Thomas Sophonow as secretive – that he was not an outgoing type who interacted with a lot of people. She described him as quiet, private and sociable to a point. She said that he had strange moods when he used drugs and that, although he was strange and quiet, he could explode. Much was made of her evidence that he threatened to kill a babysitter of hers by the name of Cheyanne. However, she very fairly made it clear in the course of her testimony that he had said that as a joke and she understood that he was not serious about the threat.
He was not violent towards her but he had on one occasion inflicted bruises on her daughter. Much was made of the fact that Jackie Henke testified that, on the first occasion that she met Thomas Sophonow, he came to her door with someone else who had a sawed off shotgun. They were apparently seeking the return of a diamond ring they believed she had in her possession. It is hard to believe that this incident made any significant impression on Jackie Henke. It was subsequent to that event that she met and established a relationship with Thomas Sophonow, lived with him for a time and called herself his friend. These are hardly the actions of anyone who considered Thomas Sophonow to be a violent person.
Counsel for Manitoba noted that Thomas Sophonow testified that he had been an outgoing, fun loving person prior to March 1982. Yet he submitted that the evidence indicates quite the contrary. He pointed to the testimony of Jackie Henke, in which she described him as quiet, introverted, with a temper and engaged in criminal activities.
I accept her evidence that, when he was with her, Thomas Sophonow was quiet, introverted and played mind games. I am satisfied that on occasions, like most of humankind, he exhibited a temper. If he did, there was no violence displayed except perhaps on one occasion towards her very young daughter. As well, Thomas Sophonow has confirmed her testimony to the effect that he had been the courier for stolen goods. Yet the obvious hostility that she displayed towards Thomas Sophonow coloured her evidence. It was very clear that she was certainly not going to say anything positive about him.
