#55: SMART LITTLE BOY 👦

🚓 CRIME - Ontario Mennonite who murdered baby son with axe may soon return to community

🏫 EDUCATION - Guelph U student’s laptop stolen from living room as he cooks himself dinner in kitchen

🎮️ GAMING - Wasaga Beach boy racks up $2,000 in charges on Grandma’s credit card playing Roblox

Good morning.

If you’ve been reading this newsletter for any amount of time, you’ve probably noticed that we cover a lot of “grandparent” scams.

We don’t cherry pick these stories. We don’t have to. 

Almost every day, another police report lands in our inbox (most of the time from Guelph) describing a new method scammers are using to clean out the retirement savings of unsuspecting octogenarians.

The scammed “grandparents” are usually livid, but apparently not always.

Just this week, a stoic woman in Wasaga Beach forgave her grandson after he racked up $2,000 in charges on her credit card playing Roblox. 

Scroll down for the full story.

Enjoy.

-Peter

⌛️ Today’s read is 2 minutes long.

An Ontario man who previously murdered his one-year-old son with an axe may soon be permitted to return to his rural Mennonite community, say authorities.

Isaac Martin is reportedly making good progress in his mental-health rehabilitation plan, which began after he was convicted of first-degree murder five years ago.

The Ontario Review Board heard at a recent meeting that Martin is stable and taking his prescribed medication. The 36-year-old Mennonite is also attending counselling and therapy sessions.

“His Mennonite community has accepted him,” the board wrote in a decision, according to CTV News. “Everything appears to be moving in the right direction.”

Martin may be allowed to return to his Mennonite community in the Southern-Ontario Township of Wellesley within the next year. It is not yet clear whether he will reside with his father or wife upon return.

Martin murdered his one-year-old son on Sept. 18, 2021, by hitting him multiple times with an axe in the basement of his family’s home. His wife witnessed part of the attack.

Police arrived within minutes to arrest Martin. 

The then-31-year-old said God told him to kill his son, but he later admitted to feeling regret for the killing.

In January 2024, a court found Martin not criminally responsible for the baby’s murder due to his mental illness—which was diagnosed as bipolar disorder with psychotic features.

Martin is currently detained at the Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care in St. Thomas, ON.

While the Ontario Review Board says Martin remains “a significant threat to the safety of the public,” it also believes a return to his Mennonite community will be “therapeutic.”

“Reintegration with his Mennonite community is key for both management of risk and Mr. Martin’s long-term stability,” wrote the board in its decision.

A Guelph University student’s laptop was stolen from his living room by an unknown intruder Tuesday evening while the student cooked dinner in his kitchen.

Around 10 PM on May 19, the student was working on a university assignment in his living room when he went to the kitchen to prepare some food. 

When he returned to the living room several minutes later, his laptop was gone.

The student looked outside and saw a man in a large brown jacket holding his laptop.

The student yelled at the man and he fled on a black bicycle.

Police are still looking for the man. The student says he was wearing a black winter hat and black pants at the time of the theft.

A Wasaga Beach woman says she does not blame her grandson after he racked $2,000 in debt on her credit card playing Roblox.

“He’s a smart little boy,” said Lynne Ramsbottom. “And the fact that he was able to find out everything he needed to use the phone was unbelievable.”

Her eight-year-old grandson Dominic purchased $2,000 of in-game Roblox accessories over a two-month period last year without her knowledge.

“Roblox is the best game in the entire world,” Dominic told CTV News.

Roblox, an online platform that allows users to program and play games created by themselves or other users, is free to play. However, Dominic used his grandmother’s credit card to buy premium avatar items, tools, and clothing.

“How did I get the purchases?” said Dominic. “How did I get access to her card?” 

“I went through her purse.”

However, Ramsbottom says her grandson is apologetic for running up her credit-card debt.

“He said he was sorry,” she said. “But I don’t think he really understands the ramifications of that kind of money being lost.”

Although losing $2,000 has made her life in Wasaga Beach harder than usual, Ramsbottom says she is using the situation to teach her grandson a valuable lesson about money.

When asked what he has learned from the incident, Dominic said, “Not spending people’s money and to be thankful for what I have.”