K-W in brief: Nov. 16, 2011

Vicious murder of boss

A man in Kitchener admitted Monday to the vicious murder of his boss, who was paying him for sex. 23-year-old Cory-James Kaufmann faces life in prison, with parole eligibility expected to be set at more than 15 years when the case returns to court in January.

He plead guilty to second-degree murder — an admittance that came more than four years after Ray Wechzelberger, 59, was found beaten to death in his Kitchener townhouse in September 2007. According to the Waterloo Region Record, an agreed statement of facts didn’t provide an explicit motive for the attack on Wechzelberger while he slept in his bed, but in an interview outside court Crown prosecutor Patricia Moore said it appears a sexual relationship between the two men had escalated and Kaufmann, then 19, was worried it would be discovered by others.

Apparently, Wechzelberger was hit repeatedly in the head with a rubber mallet that Kaufmann had purchased the day before at a Walmart store. The Record continued to state that the court was told he planned to take the body away in the trunk of his car, but gave up after dragging Wechzelberger into the living room because he was too heavy.

Instead, Kaufmann called 911 to report he had found his boss dead shortly after 8 a.m.

Man faces multiple charges

A 25-year-old Kitchener man faces numerous charges, including assaulting a police officer, following a traffic stop Monday morning. According to the Waterloo Region Record, Waterloo Regional Police commented that a vehicle displaying stolen license plates was pulled over shortly before 10 a.m. Police say the driver lied about his name, then resisted arrest when officers determined he’d given a fake name. The man began to resist the officers, which resulted in struggle. The man was eventually arrested and the police officer received minor injuries. A quantity of marijuana and crystal methamphetamine was also seized.
The man faces several charges, which include assaulting a police officer with intent to resist arrest, possession, theft from mail, driving while suspended, driving without a license, operating a motor vehicle without insurance and permit use of plates not authorized for the vehicle.

Addict behind break-ins

A crack-cocaine addict who targeted unoccupied homes — often while residents were on vacation — took responsibility Tuesday for two dozen downtown break-ins.

Brandon Downie, 20, was sentenced to the equivalent of two years in jail for a spree in Kitchener this summer and fall that began after he ripped off his own grandparents.

In addition, the court was given details of 13 more incidents in which he was the prime suspect because of the timing, location and way in which they were carried out.

—Compiled by Amanda Steiner

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