A Brantford woman was the last of several people to be convicted and sentenced in Ontario Court regarding their involvement in the death of Brantford’s Brayden Ferrall.
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“Look at where drugs have led you,” Justice Robert Gee said to Autumn Victoria Huszczo, 30, as he sentenced her.
“You were involved in a murder.”
Huszczo pleaded guilty in court recently to obstructing justice in the case by helping Ferrall’s killer and others to clean up the murder scene. Charges of murder against her were withdrawn.
Ferrall, 22, was last seen on Feb. 18, 2022 and a major search was initiated by Brantford Police with a dedicated tip line and messages from Ferrall’s French family.
While his body wasn’t found for months, police were tracking Nieko Bodine and his girlfriend, Kathleen Bacon, at that time.
During Huszczo’s sentencing, assistant Crown attorney Alex Burn’s said the four people involved – Bodine, Bacon, Baron Brading-Searles and Huszczo – put Ferrall in a Church Street parking lot where Bodine and Brading-Searles got into Ferrall’s car.
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Bodine, who was sitting in the back seat, shot Ferrall in the head and the two moved his body to the back seat, taking some of his possessions. After Ferrall was finally found, there was a stab wound to his leg, as well.
Ferrall’s body was left down an embankment on Campbell Road, near Old Onondago Road East, where he wasn’t found until May 3 by Brant OPP.
Meanwhile, an investigation showed that on Feb. 20, Bodine and Bacon bought car-seat covers and floor mats for the stolen Honda they were driving.
Later that day, all four of those involved went to Canadian Tire for cleaning products, paper towels and a bottle of Febreze.
Despite their efforts to clean up the car, it was later found “saturated with blood” according to a forensic examination.
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On Feb. 23, 2022, just after midnight, Brantford Police spotted the car with Bodine and Bacon and chased it, deploying a spike belt.
The couple abandoned the car and ran into a field near Highway 403 and Garden Avenue where Bodine shot himself in the head. Police found Bacon screaming nearby.
Because of police involvement, the Special Investigations Unit got involved but attributed Bodine’s death to suicide saying he was “determined to avoid a return to jail” after killing Ferrall.
Bodine and Bacon had also been involved in a shooting incident in the Niagara area.
Bacon eventually pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to murder.
She was sentenced to 18 months of time served, plus more time for the Niagara offense, and put on a time of house arrest.
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Brading-Searles was convicted of obstruction of justice and sentenced to about a year of time already served.
Huszczo, the last person involved in the crime, was sentenced in April after pleading guilty to obstructing justice and failing to attend court.
Although she amassed what might normally be credited as almost two years in custody, Gee sentenced her to about a year of time served as a more appropriate sentence in comparison to her co-accused.
Gee also urged her to concentrate on her efforts at staying sober.
“You’ve spent in excess of a year in jail and, hopefully, reflected on your life. It’s give you a good start to stay sober, but that’s all up to you.”
Huszczo will remain on probation for 18 months and was ordered to have no contact with Ferrall’s mother.
@EXPSGamble
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