The man accused of sending multiple letter bombs around Winnipeg in the summer of 2015 is speaking out from his jail cell to proclaim his innocence.
In an exclusive interview with Global News from Headingley Correctional Centre, Guido Amsel claims he is being framed and is at the centre of an elaborate conspiracy theory.
“I’m innocent,” Amsel said. “I have nothing to do with these letter bombs.”
Amsel has been charged with five counts of attempted murder and several explosives-related charges after letter bombs were sent to his ex-wife and two law firms in 2015.
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But Amsel said police arrested and charged the wrong person.
RAW AUDIO: Hear Guido Amsel from behind bars
Instead, Amsel reiterated claims made during trial that he was framed by police and his former lawyer, Martin Glazer.
“I believe that him and the police, together, want to frame me. They needed someone to blame,” he said. “Someone sent these bombs off. So police, they came to me and arrested me and put my name in the newspaper… all over the place, okay. Then they found out, oh s—. We’ve got the wrong person.”
Global News reached out to Amsel’s former lawyer, who was never called as a witness in the trial.
Glazer called the allegation against him “preposterous” and said via email:
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The Crown attorney cross examined this former client regarding his allegations and I understand showed how false and impossible they were.
I advocate to the end for my clients and never would or could betray a client.
I cannot comment any further but wish to make it clear that these are false accusations.
READ MORE: Bombing victim Maria Mitousis relives life-altering explosion at Guido Amsel trial
Amsel said the pouch that exploded in the hand of lawyer Maria Mitousis was later switched out and his DNA was planted in the evidence.
“The second pouch has a stitching mark on it. The first one does not,” Amsel said. “You can tell 100 per cent that this pouch is not the pouch they found in the office.”
He also said the DNA disclosure timeline doesn’t match up.
Amsel said his former lawyer had notified him on a Sunday to say his DNA had been found on the pouch. However, he said the RCMP lab resulted didn’t confirm there was a match until the next day.
“So that’s impossible. He cannot time travel,” Amsel said sternly.
Crown attorneys and the court heard these allegations when Amsel took the stand in December.
READ MORE: Closing arguments in accused letter bomber Guido Amsel trial
Prosecutors called the accusations “contrived” and tore them apart in court while reminding the judge there was never any evidence presented to the court to back up any sort of conspiracy theory.
“Mr. Amsel is not simply the victim of coincidence. He sent these bombs,” Crown attorney Chris Vanderhooft said. “He had tons of motive to do this. He’s convinced that everybody’s against him… (that) it’s all a big giant conspiracy.”
The Crown pointed to a lack of evidence and said there was no police or forensic expert who testified that protocol was broken or evidence was tampered with.
“There’s no contamination. His explanations, his evidence, is nothing more than an attempt to come up with some way to contrive evidence that would fit with an innocent explanation and it simply does not,” said Vanderhooft. “There is no evidence at all that this exhibit was contaminated.”
The Crown also went on and said the testimony given in court by officers and forensic experts who handled the pouch, contradicted Amsel’s claims.
“Mr. Amsel provides an explanation. He says, ‘well the evidence was obviously tampered with.’ With no proof to back it up. His waving pictures around in the courtroom are not proof of any evidence of tampering,” said Vanderhooft. “In fact, they are contrary to the evidence given by all of the personnel who dealt with (the pouch).
Vanderhooft also said the DNA on the pouch was a near 50/50 perfect mix of Amsel’s DNA and Mitousis’ DNA, citing the improbability of that happening had there been any “tampering.”
“There is no doubt about whose sample it is and there is no evidence of contamination whatsoever,” he said. “The match itself proves a probability of picking a different person randomly as 1 in 1.2 quintillion.”
A number that includes 18 zeros on the end of it.
But Amsel said he will not let go of his beliefs and plans to more forward with his complaints when he is out of jail.
“I will definitely report all of this to the IIU (the Independent Investigations Unit), to the professional standards RCMP, to the board from the lawyers… because there are heavy, heavy crimes involved,” he said.
Winnipeg police refused to comment on the accusations as the case remains before the courts.
The judge reserved her decision in December and has yet to rule on a verdict.
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