deadmonton 2005 - nina courtepatte - briscoe-laboucan trial - january 30th, 2007

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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.


<< january 29th, 2007 | briscoe-laboucan trial | february 1st, 2007 >>



The trial of Michael Briscoe and Joseph Laboucan continued with another female juvenile taking the stand – a girl who twice turned down their invitation to a bush party, a decision that likely spared her life.


Aged 15 at the time of Nina's murder, the teen could not be identified by provision of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. She is referred to in this narrative as Carmen Doe.


Carmen described herself as a "mall rat," part of the crowd that included Laboucan, Pyro, Buffy and Briscoe's 17-year-old girlfriend Cindy.


CTV Edmonton image

Mall rats, Carmen testified, hang around West Edmonton Mall every day, sometimes sleeping there, surviving partly by stealing.


Carmen said Nina was a close friend, one she saw at the mall often. Unlike the other rats Nina didn't steal, she said.


On the afternoon of April 2nd, 2005 Carmen said she was approached by Buffy in the mall.


The Crown prosecutor asked Carmen, "Did you ever receive an invitation to go to a party?"


"Yes I did."


And what did you tell this person? the Crown asked.


"I don't know," she testified saying. "We'll see what happens."


Hours later, at about 7:30 p.m., Carmen left the mall and was walking across a parking lot when Michael Briscoe pulled up in his Ford Tempo.


Inside the car were Joseph Laboucan, Briscoe's girlfriend Cindy, Pyro and Buffy. Pyro insisted she join them for their trip to the bush party.


“I said ‘No, it’s getting late. I have to get home, I’m going to be in trouble anyway' ” Carmen testified.


“Then Buffy said 'We're gong to smoke some weed have a party and have a dance.' Laboucan said 'Don’t be a chicken shit. Come with us.' ”


Carman said Briscoe said nothing, just looked her up and down.


She said she was tempted to go because she had never been to a bush party before and it sounded like fun.


Eventually, Carmen turned down their invitation.


“Something just didn’t seem right. I don’t know what told me it wasn't right. It just didn't look right the way everyone was looking and acting,” Carmen testified.


“I had a bad feeling about it. The look on Joe's face just didn't sit well with me.”


The teen was asked what the look was.


“He looked like he was going to do something he shouldn't,” she replied.


Carmen said she also knew Pyro to be a “big time liar.”


The next time she saw Pyro was at 3:00 a.m. on April 3rd. She was on her way home when the teen came up to her.


Carmen said his white T-shirt and shoes were spattered with blood and she described his pants looking as if bloody hands had been wiped on them.


“He told me he had killed somebody. I thought he was joking. He then proceeded to tell me, 'I did. I really, really did.' ”


Carmen said she pushed Pyro up against a wall. “I told him he was stupid and he was going to go to jail.”


Later that same day, Carmen met up with Buffy at the mall.


The pair went into a Zellers washroom where Buffy pulled out a knife that she always carried around.


CTV Edmonton image

Buffy washed the knife in the sink, and Carmen could see that blood was coming off the blade. “It was caked on from what I could see, a thick layer.”


Carmen confirmed the knife she saw Buffy cleaning was the same one entered as evidence.


Under cross-examination, Laboucan's lawyer questioned Carmen's memory of that weekend. She admitted she wasn't contacted by police until February 2006.


"Can you be certain at this point of what people said?" the lawyer asked.


"Yes. It's quite hard to forget your last conversation with someone when you find out they killed someone," she responded.



The trial continued February 1st, 2007



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