A LaSalle man informed two neighbors that he had committed a homicide approximately one hour after allegedly driving to Lakeshore and fatally shooting a man in 2024, a Windsor jury learned on Thursday.
Neighbors Testify About Confession
Glen Mayer, 49, startled his neighbors on the morning of January 20, 2024, by announcing his intention to surrender for a crime he had just committed, according to testimony in Superior Court.
“He said that he had killed someone and he was going away for 10 to 15 years and he gave me a big hug,” neighbor Patrick Bray recounted on Thursday.
“I laughed and said ‘whatever’ and dismissed it . . . (I thought) he was trying to goad me into doing some day drinking with him. I just didn’t comprehend,” Bray added.
Another neighbor, Duane Chouinard, testified that he received an unusual phone call from Mayer around 8:15 a.m. that morning.
“He called me and said that he loves me and he’s going away,” Chouinard said. “I was kind of confused, so I went to his place to have a brief conversation with him.”
Chouinard noted that Mayer appeared distressed: “He didn’t seem himself. He was white and he was flushed like something was up.”
Details of the Alleged Crime
Prosecutors allege that Mayer shot and killed Tony Bechara, 47, inside his Lakeshore home shortly after 7 a.m. that day before driving back to his residence in LaSalle. Mayer is currently on trial for first-degree murder before Superior Court Justice J. Ross Macfarlane.
Victim Remembered by Friend
George Marar, owner of the Tecumseh restaurant where Bechara worked as a manager, testified as the Crown’s first witness on Thursday. He described Bechara as his “best friend.”
“He was my go-to,” Marar said. “(The restaurant) opened at 11, he’d be there at 9 o’clock. He’d be fixing the tables and fixing the chairs and sweeping the cigarette butts, having his own cigarette, having a coffee . . . he was there handling business.”
“He was my first hug every day, my first coffee every day, for over two years,” Marar added. “He’s deeply missed.”
Marar recounted receiving an “angry” call from Mayer shortly after 6 a.m. on the morning of the incident. Mayer, who was also a friend, accused Bechara of having an affair with his wife. Marar dismissed the claim at the time, urging Mayer to calm down.
Later that morning, around 9:30 a.m., Marar attempted to call Bechara but received no answer. Bechara typically texted him every morning around 10 a.m., but no message came that day. “That’s when it was weird to me,” Marar said. He drove by the Tecumseh restaurant but did not see Bechara’s car or any signs of activity inside.
The trial continues in Windsor’s Superior Court.
