Killer loses appeal bid in brutal slaying of Hamilton ex-Hell’s Angel Lou Malone

One of two brothers convicted of killing a former Hamilton Hell's Angel has had his appeal bid rejected by Ontario's top court.

John Josipovic of Grimsby was found guilty of second-degree murder in 2020 for the savage slaying of Lou Malone on an east Hamilton street on Nov. 9, 2013.

He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 13 years by Superior Court Justice Andrew Goodman. It was Josipovic's second trial for Malone's murder after winning an appeal from an earlier conviction for second-degree murder in 2015.

Saying he was in fear for his life because of Malone's ongoing intimidation, Josipovic and his brother, Mato, followed Malone in a pickup truck while the former biker was walking his dogs on Kenilworth Avenue. Earlier in the evening, Malone and a friend had beaten up Mato over a disputed debt involving John.

After an angry confrontation where Malone threatened to kill both brothers, Josipovic testified he snapped," grabbed a shotgun from the truck and fired five shots at Malone as they chased him.

He then got out of the truck, smashed Malone over the head with the shotgun and then shot him at point-blank range, killing him instantly.

Mato Josipovic was found guilty of manslaughter for his role in driving the truck as Malone was chased. He was sentenced to the seven years he served in prison following his arrest in 2013 and released in December 2020.

At their 2020 trial, the Josipovic brothers had different accounts of why they were targeted by Malone that put them at odds with each other and led to John Josipovic's appeal bid.

Josipovic testified that he had loaned money to a close of associate of Malone for a medical marijuana business but the associate never fully repaid the loan. According to Josipovic, Malone became involved and started a campaign of harassment and attempted extortion directed at John.

Mato, or Mike as he was also known, didn't testify but his lawyer put forward the suggestion in his closing argument that John's debt was instead related to an illegal marijuana grow operation involving Malone's associate, that John was the one who owed money, and that Malone was helping his associate get repaid.

Josipovic's appeal argued that Goodman, the judge, didn't provide proper instruction to the jury about the brothers' differing accounts of the origin of the debt.

Josipovic argued that he testified under oath, denied he was involved in an illegal grow op, and no evidence was put forth as proof otherwise. His brother, meanwhile, didn't testify and his lawyer's suggestion was merely speculation, Josipovic argued.

The three Court of Appeal judges unanimously dismissed the appeal, stating Goodman had sufficiently cautioned the jury that just because a lawyer puts a theory to a witness does not make it evidence," they state.

What Mato's counsel said about the genesis of the debt could have had no bearing on the one and only question for the jury in relation to the appellant, which was whether there was provocation making what the appellant did manslaughter and not murder," the decision states.

Josipovic has served nearly nine years already since his arrest for Malone's killing. His earliest opportunity to be released from prison is Nov. 18, 2026.

Steve Buist is a Hamilton-based investigative reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sbuist@thespec.com