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Crystal Bastien from Ottawa never thought the men she recruited to extort money from her pimp would kill him.
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She just wanted her money back. She worked hard for it and had saved up. She had about $80,000 from doing tricks and some cash payouts from the casino across the river. She kept it in a shoebox and when she disappeared, she blamed her pimp, Mohamad Mana, for stealing it.
His intimidation scheme to retrieve the cash turned deadly after he lured his pimp into a Walkley Road hotel on the night of September 15, 2018, only to be ambushed, tied up, beaten and then strangled by three assailants. to death.
Bastien, 35, was sentenced this week to five and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter for her role in the murder of 30-year-old Mana.
While Ottawa police have built a successful case against the vulnerable sex worker, the real killers have so far evaded charges. Most homicide cases in Ottawa are anchored, in part, by simple video and this case is no different, with hotel security footage capturing the three murder suspects.
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The Ottawa Police Department released images of the suspects in September 2018, but nearly four years later the force reports the investigation is still ongoing and declined to comment on the homicide case.
When the police released images of the suspects, he asked for the public’s help in solving his case.
Video footage shows what police described as a Caucasian or Middle Eastern man with facial hair. This man was wearing a light gray hoodie, dark pants, and dark shoes. The second suspect seen in hotel security footage is a black male wearing a dark hoodie, dark pants and a baseball cap. The third man in the video is again, described by police, as a Caucasian or Middle Eastern man wearing a Crooks and Castles hoodie, capri pants and high-top sneakers.
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The three suspects were recruited to do Bastien’s dirty work. It was such a dirty deed that some wore latex gloves.
Bastien was originally charged with first-degree murder, but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter after her lawyer, Michael Spratt, negotiated a successful resolution with the Crown prosecutor’s office.
“Millisecond. Bastien never intended to hurt anyone and never imagined the night would end tragically. To his credit, he has taken responsibility for his actions and their unintended consequences,” Spratt said after the March guilty plea.
When Bastien’s shoebox savings went missing, she texted her pimp for hours, accusing him of being a lying thief and hoping he’d get hit by a car.
“You really screwed me up this time,” Bastien texted his controlling pimp.
She then tried different ways to lure her pimp into the hotel room.
Mana seemed to notice, even replying, “Do you want to try to kill me?”
Still, he showed up at the hotel.
The fatal beating was severe enough for the receptionist to call 911.
Ottawa patrol officers found Mana’s body, bound and gagged, face down on the sofa in the blood-spattered hotel room.
The killers were long gone.
