Co-accused pleads guilty in murder of Chelsea Davidenas, sentenced to life in prison with 15 years parole ineligibility
Steven Aaron Zwick, the co-accused involved in the killing of 29-year-old Chelsea Davidenas, received a life sentence after pleading guilty to second degree murder on Monday.
Zwick, 29, or Airdrie, and Paul Joseph Rushton, 52, of Calgary, were both charged with the murder of Davidenas after she was lured to a residence in 5000 block of Rundlehorn Drive N.E. on Feb. 17, 2024.
Text messages from the men outlined a conspiracy to lure a female to the home, where they would restrain, both rape the victim, and film it to sell the video for money, Crown prosecutor Vicki Faulkner read out from the statement of facts.
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Davidenas and Zwick were both regular drug users, and it was believed that she was invited by him to hang out and consume GHB.
Zwick and Davidenas entered the house through a bedroom window, where Rushton waited in the bathroom and awaited the signal to ambush her.
“Zwick and (Rushton) restrained Davidenas (and) Davideas tried to resist,” Faulker said. “She yelled and groaned, attempting to make noise, while the two men held her down and attempted to silence her.”
A physical struggle ensued, with Zwick positioning himself behind Davidenas, placing his arm around her neck and a blanket around her face, Faulkner said.
At the same time, Rushton tied her wrists with a necktie while restraining her legs to prevent her from kicking.
“Davidenas died as a result of the assault,” Faulker said. “The strangulation was described by Zwick as lasting less than 10 minutes, with Davidenas continuing to fight for her life.”
The deceased body was covered by a blanket left on the floor of Rushton’s room for two to three days while they figured out a plan to dispose of the body.
Further text messages revealed they wanted to continue with their plan by luring another victim.
“Zwick told (Rushton) that he was not too fazed by the murder of Davidenas and that it was, ‘deserved,'” Faulkner said.
5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on calgaryherald.com — the content belongs to Calgary Herald.
