‘Like a jigsaw puzzle:’ Winnipeg police officer pieced together letter-bomb note

WINNIPEG — A forensics officer assigned with collecting debris following the explosion of a letter bomb in a Winnipeg law office says it took him an hour just to collect all the pieces.

Patrol Sgt. Kelly Takatch told court that piecing together a yellow note that came with the bomb was “like a jigsaw puzzle.”

Guido Amsel has pleaded not guilty to five counts of attempted murder, one count of aggravated assault and several explosives-related charges stemming from three bombs that were sent in the mail in July 2015.

The one sent to one law office seriously injured lawyer Maria Mitousis and cost her a hand.

Takatch testified that officers initially paid very little attention to a pouch which court has heard contained the explosive device.

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Takatch said officers were busy collecting “thousands of pieces” of debris off the floor before turning their attention to the lawyer’s desk.

“The amount of debris and the amount of evidence which needed to be collected was overwhelming,” he testified Friday.

Court already heard that the note asked Mitousis to press a button on a device that arrived in a pouch. The note said in part: “Hi Maria. Push enter to start. Listen to the conversation and phone me.”

Takatch said he never touched the pouch, which tested positive for an explosive substance.

Court has heard that other letter bombs were sent to another law office and Amsel’s former wife, who had been represented by Mitousis in a divorce.

Those bombs did not go off.

(CTV Winnipeg, The Canadian Press)

The Canadian Press