Surrey Now April 8 2011 by Glacier Community Publishing

FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011

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Music-filled marathon in the works for North Surrey Marathon runners from around the world could be grooving to the sounds of “world” music in North Surrey next year, the Now has learned. Movers and shakers in the area are working to stage something called Surrey International World Music Marathon on Sept. 30, 2012. The large-scale event would involve a marathon run and a variety of cultural bands playing on stages set up along the 26.2-mile route, with

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a big concert to cap the day — kind of like the city’s annual Fusion Festival but with much more Lycra. The idea for the marathon was pitched by Elizabeth Model, an avid runner and executive director of Downtown Surrey Business Improvement Association. Members of the event planning group will ask for support from Surrey city council at an April 18 meeting. — Tom Zillich

❚THE COURTS

Fleetwood grandma stabbed 126 times NEW WESTMINSTER Tom ZYTARUK – Surrey grandmother Maria Staff Reporter Catroppa was stabbed 126 times in the Fleetwood townhouse she shared with her second husband, Sebastiano Damin. Dr. Danny Straathof, a forensic pathologist at Royal Columbian Hospital, testified in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster Thursday that an autopsy revealed 51 stab wounds to the 69-year-old woman’s head and neck, 69 to her torso, five to her arms and one to her thigh. “I think they all occurred prior to death,” he told the court. Straathof said he couldn’t tell in what order the stabs were dealt, but added that Catroppa would have died “within seconds to minutes” from those that severed major blood vessels. Damin, 76, is on trial for second-degree murder. The killing happened in the bedroom of the couple’s gated Monta Rosa townhouse in Fleetwood on Nov. 24, 2009. MARIA CATROPPA Both were on their second marriage. The Crown played a 14-minute videotaped police interview in which Damin explained he “did it” after the couple had argued that night and Catroppa threatened to end their 11-year marriage. He said his wife told him “everything was over.” After the argument, he said, he “got to thinking and thinking and thinking.” “Then I guess I went crazy. That’s all.” The interview took place in Royal Columbian Hospital, where he was being treated for stab wounds that he said were self-inflicted. Reclining in a hospital bed, Damin told police he stabbed his wife because he thought she was going to make him leave the house. “I

guess I kinda snapped,” he said. Sgt. John Tvergyak, of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, described Damin’s demeanour during the interview as “stoic” and added that the elderly man had “a very intense look on his face.” When Tvergyak asked if he wanted to say anything to his wife’s family, Damin shook his head. At times he seemed to ignore the police officers’ questions, just staring straight ahead. Some members of the public gallery put their hands to their mouth when the Crown produced as exhibits the first of two knives, a kitchen knife with a 30-centimetre long blade. Straathoff believed the second blade, at nearly 11 centimetres long, to be more consistent with the wounds. “I think this knife is a possible cause for the stab wounds that we’ve been discussing,” the pathologist said. Wearing a charcoal grey dress suit, Damin sat stiff as a statue in the prisoner’s box, with a dejected look on his face, as Straathoff discussed the autopsy results. The Crown is expected to close its case today (Friday), with the defence beginning its case next week. Meantime, Catroppa’s family is accepting donations for a scholarship in her name. One of her daughters, a Kwantlen Polytechnic University business professor, said she wants the scholarship to go to single mothers who have experienced adversity. “I’m looking forward to a really long line of women getting this money and moving on to better things,” Dr. Jay Tuason said. Those wishing to donate to the Maria Catroppa Endowment Fund can call 604-5992010. tzytaruk@thenownewspaper.com