january 22nd, 2007 › briscoe-laboucan trial › nina courtepatte › deadmonton 2005 › deadmonton › edmonton

WARNING

Nina Louise Courtepatte, 13, died from blunt force trauma on April 3rd, 2005.

Charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault were Michael Erin Briscoe, now 36, Joseph Wesley Laboucan, now 21, and three teens not identified by provision of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

One male teen, aged 19 and nicknamed "Pyro", pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in youth court in Stony Plain on December 8th, 2006. He was to be sentenced as an adult in April 2007.

Briscoe's girlfriend, now 19 and named "Cindy" in this narrative, went to trial March 12th, 2007. Pyro's girlfriend, now 17 and nicknamed "Buffy", had a trial date set for May 1st, 2007.

briscoe-laboucan trial | january 23rd, 2007 >>

The first-degree murder trial of Michael Erin Briscoe and Joseph Wesley Laboucan began in Edmonton's Provincial Law Courts Building.

The pair were also charged with kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault. The trial was expected to take six weeks.

Local media had their hands full with competing and breaking murder stories demanding the lead story as the Briscoe-Laboucan trial got underway.

Edmonton police were dealing with the murder of Stephane Landry, found stabbed to death in an alley near the Bonnie Doon Shopping Centre, while Strathcona RCMP were attempting to solve the murder of David Kelm, the stepson of an Edmonton police officer, whose body was found dumped in a trailer park owned by Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandel.

The local stories were set against opening day coverage of the Robert 'Willie' Pickton murder trial in Vancouver, British Columbia – a case that drew international attention (for more about the man who once admitted to killing 49 women on his pig farm, visit the Prime Time Crime and CBC.ca web sites).

The trial of Briscoe and Laboucan in the case of Nina Courtepatte's murder began with Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Brian Burrows not inviting lawyers to make opening statements.

Michael Briscoe was represented by Charles Davison. Joseph Laboucan was defended by Angela Alphonse.

Much of what would have made up the Crown's statement had already been heard in an Agreed Statement of Facts read into a Stony Plain court at the trial of the 19-year-old man who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on December 8th, 2006.

That Statement of Facts was not to be considered as evidence in the trial currently before Justice Burrows. It was entered as an exhibit, open to challenge by the defence.

Briscoe and Laboucan were represented by their own separate lawyers and the case was heard before Burrows alone – a jury presence usually required for first-degree trials had previously been waived. The pair had also earlier pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Those present in court were told to brace themselves for grisly evidence that was soon to be introduced.

The first Crown witness called to testify was RCMP forensics specialist Cpl. Sharon Smith. Smith was one of several investigators to examine the crime scene.

Smith introduced the court to a videotape taken of the Edmonton Springs Golf Course Resort as it appeared on the morning of April 4th, 2005 [full size image].

The body of Nina Courtepatte was seen in the video lying face-up near the 100-yard marker on the course's fourth fairway.

Blood soaked the grass where her body laid. One of her shoes was found nearby.

The graphic video focused on Nina's misshapen body, her face bruised, swollen, lacerated – battered and unrecognisable – covered in blood, with evidence of repeated blows that crushed the bone of her skull.

Nina's clothing was bunched up around the upper portion of her body.

“It appears she had been dragged by her ankles for a short distance,” testified Cpl. Smith.

CTV Edmonton claimed it was the Court that decided which images were to be released to television audiences.

Cpl. Smith went on to point out key items of evidence collected at the scene ...

... a blue set of pliers alongside a sucker-stick, some coins and a cigarette butt.

The courtroom television monitors showed a tour of a room at the Windmill Hotel on Edmonton's western outskirts. It was there Michael Briscoe and his 17-year-old girlfriend were arrested.

At the motel, RCMP seized two pairs of stained jeans from a laundry basket, a black jacket ...

... a black purse and a daytimer. The door of a refrigerator inside the motel room tested positive for signs of blood. Inside the bathroom of the unit, more positive test results.

RCMP seized Briscoe's 1991 Ford Tempo. Positive tests for blood came from the steering wheel, the driver's seat, the gear shift and on all four inside door handles.

Briscoe stated in an April 11th, 2005 police interview that he was only the driver when Nina was murdered, and that Laboucan was the ringleader.

Tools were seized from the Tempo's trunk ...

... including a crowbar, a pry bar, flashlights – and a hammer and a wrench still stained with blood.

Graphic autopsy photographs were shown when the medical examiner's report was read out.

Nina suffered fifteen lacerations to her face as well as a fracture of her skull. One 5.5 cm cut exposed underlying bone.

In addition, there were bruises all over her tiny 5-foot 2-inch 110 pound body, including defensive wounds on the backs of her fingers and both hands.

The medical examiner reported the injuries were "consistent with this individual having been struck several times with a heavy, blunt object" and that the cause of death was "blunt cranial trauma."

A forensic report concluded that DNA matching the male youth who had earlier pleaded guilty was found in Nina’s vagina. Laboucan’s DNA was also found in her underwear.

In the Agreed Statement of Facts, it was alleged Laboucan used a sledge hammer to hit Courtepatte in the groin area and the male teen, nicknamed "Pyro," tried to set fire to Nina's pants in an attempt to dispose of evidence of the sexual assault.

As the video silently played on the TV monitors, the sound of gasps and sobs filled the otherwise hushed courtroom.

Nina Courtepatte's older brother, identified as Patrick, and his unidentified fiancee left the proceedings in tears when the video began and returned only after the tape had finished playing.

For Nina's mother, Peacha Atkinson, it was all too much and she stayed outside the courtroom during all of Cpl. Smith's testimony. She came back into court aided by the comfort of an Edmonton police Victim Services Unit member who remained at her side.

Perhaps for reasons of his own, Joseph Laboucan too would rather have not seen the video if he had been given the choice. The 21-year-old, with his head down facing the floor, had his eyes closed the entire time the tape played.

In contrast, Michael Briscoe often leaned forward to better see the monitor. At other times he rested his head against the wall, simply staring at the screen with active bemusement.

It was just a week before during the voir dire hearing that a videotape showing his police interrogation had captured as much in the way of public interest.

The trial continued January 23rd, 2007

A list of persons named in this case can be found at the bottom of the main Briscoe-Laboucan trial page.

deadmonton 2005 - nina courtepatte - briscoe-laboucan trial - january 22nd, 2007