2012 top Ottawa stories: Magnotta, sinkhole, job cuts
Year in review: Body parts probe, Aylmer triple homicide lead flood of most-read crime stories
CBC News
Posted: Dec 28, 2012 4:42 PM ET
Last Updated: Dec 30, 2012 12:00 PM ET
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Here is the list of the top 10 stories according to CBC Ottawa's online readership from January to December 2012:
Luka Rocco Magnotta. (Facebook)1. Body parts suspect may have filmed killing
The story that led to an international manhunt for Luka Magnotta went viral before the suspect's name was even public. The dismemberment of a Chinese student in Montreal was discovered after body parts were first found in Ottawa and Montreal.
RELATED | Luka Magnotta had sparked worries among Toronto police
Joanne Léger-Legault. (Ottawa-Carleton District School Board)2. Teacher loses licence after sex with students
An Ottawa woman lost her teaching licence after she admitted to the Ontario College of Teachers that she had intimate sexual relationships with multiple teenage boys.
Aylmer triple homicide crime scene. (CBC)3. Aylmer triple stabbing leads to first-degree murder charges
A Mauritius man was charged with killing the mother of his 15-month-old daughter, his daughter's grandmother and her husband after they were found dead in an Aylmer, Que., home.
RELATED | Friends, family pay tribute to Aylmer homicide victims
Food cloud. (CBC)4. No-calorie food cloud a tasty alternative
An Ottawa restaurant started serving a food cloud you inhaled, which had no calories. They tabbed it as a healthy alternative if your food's texture is not paramount.
Hélène Campbell had a year to remember. (CBC)5. Double-lung recipient Hélène Campbell dances for joy
Hélène Campbell's 2012 odyssey began when the 21-year-old organ-donation advocate spurred celebrities like Justin Bieber and Ellen DeGeneres to support her cause. Campbell, who suffered from a severe lung condition, underwent a successful double-lung transplant in April and continues her recovery. Her public battle became one of the stories of the year.
RELATED | Hélène Campbell says she was 'at peace' during lung surgery
Highway 174 sinkhole. (Ottawa Fire Services)6. Ottawa sinkhole swallows car, but not driver
Juan Pedro Unger was driving home along Highway 174 near the Jeanne d'Arc Boulevard exit in Orleans when all of a sudden he saw a large hole in the road in front of him. He slammed the brakes but his car plummeted into the sinkhole. He escaped unharmed but the sinkhole captured the city's headlines as the road was closed for weeks.
RELATED | Man who escaped Hwy. 174 sinkhole wants police investigation
RELATED | Sinkhole sewer video inspection required further action: report
Father loses custody. (CBC)7. Obese Ottawa dad loses custody of kids
An Ottawa man complained after he could not regain custody of his two sons. The boys were taken from him when he was 525 pounds but he lost some weight. It was not enough and eventually his sons were put up for adoption.
Teens accused of prostituting others at Walkley Road townhouse complex. (CBC)8. Teen girls charged with prostituting other teens
Police first charged two 15-year-old girls for prostituting three other teenage girls using an online invitation. Later, a third teenage girl was charged in a story that shocked the city.
Julie Bilotta, who gave birth in an Ottawa jail. (MySpace)9. Inmate's rights allegedly violated in jailhouse birth
A Cornwall, Ont., woman gave birth inside a segregated cell at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre and her treatment inside the cell became the centre of an investigation by the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services.
RELATED | Mother reunited with baby born in Ottawa jail
RELATED | Jail mom claims leg infection contracted in Ottawa cell
Public servants protest. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)10. Federal job cuts could be higher than projected
The 2012 federal budget detailed a swath of job cuts in the public service, which has hit the Ottawa-Gatineau region the hardest. This had the largest local impact of any story over the past year.
RELATED | Almost 11,000 federal job cuts so far
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- Friend's favour turns into 2 bad breaks
- Minor hockey players reflect on career-ending concussions
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