The couple were held for two days in Magog before they were rescued unharmed by a Quebec provincial police tactical unit.

The group wanted to exchange the couple for 50 kilograms of cocaine or $3.5 million cash, but they were unaware Mackenzie had been arrested in Vermont days earlier with the drugs.ĭuring the trial, Sandra Helm identified Arnold as one of the men in her bedroom the night of the kidnapping on Sept. The Helms were held for ransom in connection with what the Crown said was a botched drug deal involving their grandson, Mackenzie Helm. The couple in their 70s were taken from their home by a group of men in September 2020, smuggled into Canada by boat through the Akwesasne Mohawk reserve and detained at a cottage in Magog, Que., about 125 kilometres southeast of Montreal. Four other men arrested with Arnold received sentences of between six and 15 years. The Crown has told the court previously it will seek a 17-year sentence for Arnold, while the defence has countered with a sentence recommendation in the 10-year range. My husband and I thought we would never make it home to see our family again.”Ī jury found Arnold guilty in February of five charges, including kidnapping, extortion and conspiracy to kidnap, for being part of a plot to abduct Sandra Helm and her husband James of Moira, N.Y. “At the time of the events, I was afraid I was going to be killed.

“What happened to us has changed our lives in every way imaginable,” Helm told Quebec Superior Court Justice Michel Pennou. Sandra Helm delivered a victim impact statement Thursday at a sentencing hearing for Gary Arnold, 54.

woman who was kidnapped along with her husband and smuggled into Quebec in October 2020 says she lives in constant fear she will fall victim to another crime.

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