Michael Briere

Michael Briere is a Canadian convicted of rape and murder.

Originally from Montreal, in 2003, Briere lived in downtown Toronto, where he worked as a software developer. On May 12, 2003, he kidnapped Holly Maria Jones, a 10-year-old girl who happened to be walking past his house as she returned home from a friend's house that evening. He kidnapped her, sexually assaulted and strangled her. After dismembering her body, he attempted to discard the remains by placing them in two bags and used weights to try to sink them in the Toronto Harbour; however, the bags were found the next morning on May 13, 2003.^[1]

Briere was initially suspected by police for refusing to provide a DNA sample when they conducted a wide-scale request for samples from all men in the area where Jones had gone missing. He was arrested and charged with her murder on June 20, 2003.^[1] Police had put Briere under surveillance, and obtained a DNA sample of Briere's by testing his saliva on a pop can Briere had disposed of in a public trash can. Carpet fibres from the green carpet of his apartment were matched to fibres found on the remains.

Briere pleaded guilty to the crime, which he then described as "cruel, inhuman, and nightmarish," claiming he wished to spare his victim's family the pain of a trial. He received an automatic life sentence and will not be eligible to apply for parole until 2028.^[2]

In court, he attributed his actions to viewing child pornography,^[1] a claim which resulted in considerable public debate about pornography in Canada.

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