In 2003, Maria Reimer came to our studios promoting her first solo CD. The
then 19 year old San Ignacio resident wasn’t like most who passed through
our studios with a new release. First, she was female singing country tunes
in English and Spanish and second, she was of Mennonite descent. We never heard
from her again after she went to pursue her dreams of pop stardom in Canada
where she was going to college.
But that dream has turned into a nightmare and tonight, the news is that Maria
Reimer now known as Emelda Marie Cuddy has been sentenced to four and a half
years in a Canadian prison. According to The Gazette, a Canadian newspaper,
she was sentenced in a provincial court in Winnipeg, Canada. The newspaper states
that she admitted to being the woman behind the mask who held up six credit
unions in Winnipeg between July and December 2007. The robberies netted $35,000
Canadian dollars which is about $66 thousand Belize dollars. She has been ordered
to repay all of the stolen money.
Though she never used a gun, the report states that Cuddy would threaten bank
staff with violence — in one case claiming she would return to kill a
pregnant teller if her demands weren't complied with, court was told. In her
final robbery, bank staff observed Cuddy crying as she stood in line, waiting
to be called to the counter where she produced a threatening note demanding
cash. “I don't want to do this," she sobbed to her victim.
So what went wrong with the once promising Maria? The report states that her
Defence lawyer John Corona said she began hanging out at several Winnipeg bars
and "got caught up with the wrong crowd." At sentencing yesterday,
the 26-year-old is reported to have blown a kiss to everyone as she was led
away in handcuffs. Canadian Justice officials remarked that the case is one
of the most unusual to come before the courts in many years.