deadmonton 2005 - nina courtepatte - briscoe-laboucan trial - february 2nd, 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.


<< february 1st, 2007 | briscoe-laboucan trial | february 5th, 2007 >>



With her own lawyer in attendance, Cindy was on the witness stand for a second day. She was also put on the spot as the defence peppered her with questions and poked holes in her credibility.


Cindy spoke of her childhood spent in foster care, living with and running away from relatives, often ending up in group homes.


She was diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Attention Deficit Disorder, suffered from depression and frequently gave herself self-inflicted cuts on her arms.


Joseph Laboucan's lawyer, Laurie Wood, asked Cindy if she had ever dabbled in occult rituals.


Cindy denied being into witchcraft or drinking blood.


Wood then followed with a series of questions and accusations that brought Cindy near to the point of break down.


The defence lawyer asked her about inconsistencies between her police statements and her testimony.


"I understand you didn't like Nina much."


"How can I not like someone I don't even know," Cindy responded.


The court then heard that in transcripts of previous interviews with police Cindy stated she had known Nina for quite some time and that they had often played video games together in an arcade at West Edmonton Mall.


For whatever reason, Wood pronounced the victim's name as "Nine-nah," much to the dismay of her family sitting in court.


Wood continued by asking where exactly Cindy was when Laboucan supposedly said he wanted to kill someone for fun and whether it was Laboucan who had chosen the victim.


Cindy said she couldn't remember.


Wood suggested it was she or Pyro that brought up the idea of killing someone for fun.


Cindy denied it.


“I did not bring it up with Pyro. I did not discuss it with Pyro. The first time I heard someone talk about killing someone was Joe Laboucan,” she shot back.


Wood asked about Laboucan giving her the wrench out at the golf course, the one she hid up her sleeve. He asked her why she did that.


"You didn't want anyone to know you had it," the lawyer suggested.


“I can't recall why I put it up there,” she replied. “I can't explain. I didn't know what to do with the wrench.”


Wood asked why Cindy didn't ask her extremely protective boyfriend, Briscoe, who is much taller than Laboucan, to intervene as the situation became violent.


“I didn't think of that at the time,” Cindy said.


“What did you think this wrench was for?” Wood asked.


“I don't know,” Cindy replied.


“Did you think you were going to work on a heavy duty truck out there in the field? On some engines?” Wood asked bristling with sarcasm.


“I don't know,” Cindy repeated.


Wood suggested it was actually Pyro who told the story about vampires and bringing the dead back to life.


Denying the accusation Cindy said, “Joe Laboucan was telling that story.”


Wood told her another witness – Buffy – testified that Cindy ran up to Nina and hit her in the head with the wrench because the girl was “pissing me off.”


Cindy said she never said that, and that she hit Nina in the middle of the back, not the head. She also denied punching and hitting Nina when she fell to the ground.


She also testified Laboucan threatened to “hurt her” if she told anyone about him saying he wanted to kill someone. However, when questioned, she couldn't recall when or where that was said.



Laboucan's lawyer then outlined how his client was the victim of a frame-up committed by the mall rats after he failed to pay them off.


The day after the murder, Laboucan went to a lawyer's office to pick up a large cheque for an insurance claim related to a work injury.


Buffy, Briscoe and Pyro were waiting in the car for him to come out and pay them the $1,000 he had promised them. Laboucan never came back to the car.


Briscoe and Cindy expected Laboucan to pay for expenses at the motel. Buffy and Pyro feared he might go to the police.


It was at that point, Wood suggested, that the four hatched their plan to frame Laboucan.


Cindy denied this, and said that after Nina's death, she never once talked to anyone else about the incident. She also denied being angry with Laboucan after he left without giving them any of the money.


“Did you, and Buffy and Jane, get together and make up what you would tell police if you got caught?” Wood asked.


“No,” Cindy said.


Wood suggested that Nina's death was a traumatic event and that she didn't remember much of April 2nd and 3rd, 2005.


Cindy agreed.


“You had time to create a memory about it,” Wood suggested.


“No,” she replied.


Cindy then complained to the court she was “tired” and “getting confused.” Jutsice Burrows adjourned the trial for the day.



The trial continued February 5th, 2007



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