deadmonton 2005 - nina courtepatte - briscoe-laboucan trial - march 6th, 2007

delicious save to del.icio.us | submit to Digg


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.


<< march 5th, 2007 | briscoe-laboucan trial | march 7th, 2007 >>



It was now the turn of the defence to make closing arguments.


Michael Briscoe's lawyer Charles Davison, who called no witnesses throughout the trial, was the first to appear.


Global Edmonton image

Davison said his client was an unwitting "dupe" who was manipulated into driving a gang of mall rats out to the countryside so they could murder 13-year-old Nina Courtepatte.


"The evidence is consistent with him being a dupe," he said, adding that Briscoe was not part of any plan or scheme to kidnap Nina at West Edmonton Mall and kill her for fun.


He didn't know the others were tricking Nina to come with them by telling her they were heading to a bush party.


"There's no suggestion anyone said to him, 'This is the ruse we're going to use to get these girls into the car.' "


Briscoe may have heard other mall rats talking about chopping off heads and killing for fun, but Davison said these comments came out of the blue and that any reasonable person would not take them seriously.


"These are teenagers making these comments and they are so off the wall, the only natural reaction would be, 'You guys are just talking silly, talking foolish.' "


While Davison admitted there was plenty of evidence to prove his client drove the vehicle that night, he also said Briscoe didn't know where he was going.


But Court of Queen's Bench Justice Brian Burrows pointed out that after Nina and her friend got in the car with the other five, Briscoe appeared to know where he was driving.


"He drives, and there's quite a lot of evidence to suggest he's the one that picks the place."


Davison, quoting from police interviews, replied that Briscoe said he wasn't involved in selecting the golf course and was only receiving directions from his 17-year-old girlfriend Cindy.


"Basically, I'm just driving where they want me to go," Briscoe told police.


"I didn't know where I was going so I kept driving ... I kept asking where we were going."


Briscoe only stopped when he got tired of driving, Davison said.


And when he parked the car, Briscoe had no idea a murder was minutes away from happening.


"He had no reason to believe that anyone in the car was at risk from anyone else," Davison said.


This time it was Justice Burrows that quoted from Briscoe's interviews.


"I just thought they wanted to scare the shit out of someone," Briscoe had told police.


"It doesn't seem to fit that he had no idea that nothing negative was going to happen to Nina," Burrows said.


"He goes as far as to say he knows something negative will happen," Burrows pointed out.


"You're right, it's an odd comment," Davison acknowledged. "At worst, it raises one's eyebrows."


But it doesn't prove Briscoe showed the level of criminal intent to kill needed to convict him of murder, Davison said.


The defence lawyer said Briscoe thought the teens just wanted to have sex and smoke crack.


As he told the police, he didn't want them doing that at his apartment, so instead he drove out to find a suitable place for a party outside the city.


Nina's friend Jane earlier testified that after Briscoe parked, he pulled out a map and said he'd found the place. But Davison said Jane was the only person who said that Briscoe did this.


The trunk of the car was opened so that tools used to kill Nina could be removed, but there was no evidence to suggest Briscoe passed out those tools, Davison said.


Briscoe told police he thought Joseph Laboucan was getting a supply of crack cocaine out of the trunk.


At first, Briscoe stayed with the car as the others headed out onto the golf course.


The Crown argued Briscoe could have been having second thoughts about the murder, or he could have been waiting for Nina to go so he could carry out the large sledgehammer without her seeing it.


Davison suggested Briscoe hung back because he thought the teens, including his own girlfriend, were going to have sex and smoke up.


Briscoe had been trying hard to get his girlfriend off drugs and he didn't want to be around when she smoked crack, Davison said.


"That would explain his comment, 'Go and do whatever you're going to do, I don't want to be part of it.' "


Briscoe later reconsidered and went to catch up with the group, but Davison said he wasn't there when Cindy struck the first blow against Nina with a wrench.


By the time Briscoe rejoined the group, Nina had already been attacked.


"Things were already happening, events were already unfolding before he was even there," Davison said.


Briscoe told police he touched Nina's shoulder and told her to be quiet and to calm down. Davison explained Briscoe was just trying to diffuse the situation.


Jane testified that Briscoe held down Nina by the wrists while she was being raped.


Briscoe's girlfriend, who is native, had dark hair and a dark complexion, just like Briscoe, who is black.


Davison argued that Jane could be mistaken about who held down Nina, and that Cindy had admitted on the stand to holding down Nina while Laboucan raped her.


"In the dark and in those conditions ... I'd submit the very live possibility that what [Jane] saw was what [Cindy] did."


"We have to be doubtful that [Jane] is accurate and reliable, as honest as she's trying to be," Davison said.


The court had heard Laboucan and Pyro testify that Briscoe had used a sledgehammer to strike Nina.


But Davison said everything those two said should be rejected because they are admitted liars and their stories had changed constantly.


"The oath means very little or nothing to those two and it would be a travesty to rely on their evidence."


Briscoe never swung the sledgehammer that crushed Nina's skull, Charles Davison said.


Physical evidence showed that Pyro raped Nina, as well as possibly one other male – but not Briscoe, Davison said.


Not one person said Briscoe raped Nina, Davison reminded the court.


He also said it was not an offence simply to be at the scene of a crime, and it would only be criminal if Briscoe had encouraged others to take part in Nina Courtepatte's murder. Davison said his client did not do so.


To convict on murder, there had to be a high degree of blameworthiness, Davison said.


If Briscoe was simply out at the scene watching and did nothing to stop the attack, that wasn't enough to convict him.


"She wasn't killed because Mr. Briscoe touched her or told her to calm down. She wasn't killed because Mr. Briscoe drove her."


Davison said that even if Michael Briscoe knew about a plan to kill Nina Courtepatte, the worst he should be found guilty of is manslaughter.



The trial continued March 7th, 2007



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