march 23rd, 2007 › briscoe-laboucan trial › nina courtepatte › deadmonton 2005 › deadmonton › edmonton

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.

<< march 7th, 2007 | briscoe-laboucan trial | april 13th, 2007 >>

The much-anticipated verdict in the trial of Joseph Laboucan and Michael Briscoe led authorities to move the hearing to the largest space available in Edmonton's Law Courts Building.

Peacha Atkinson, Nina Courtepatte's mother, had earlier told media that she would be sure that more than two dozen of her friends and family attended. A heavy national media presence was also expected.

When the session convened, a packed and pin-drop silent courtroom waited for Court of Queen's Bench Justice Brian Burrows to announce his decision in a case largely built on the testimony of a group of self-described liars, most of whom faced charges in Nina's death themselves.

Cheers and applause broke out when Justice Burrows read out his decision against Joseph Laboucan: guilty of first-degree murder.

Laboucan appeared stunned. His shoulders slumped and he looked down at the floor, shaking his head.

When Burrows read out his verdict for Michael Briscoe, there was an astonished silence followed by a gasp of slow-realisation when he acquitted the man of all charges.

Added to the air was Briscoe's sudden weeping as the slender man sobbed into his hands. His lawyer handed him tissues.

In a written decision, Burrows described Laboucan's testimony as “radically inconsistent with the evidence of other witnesses who have no, or at least less, reason to be untruthful.”

Stays of proceedings against Laboucan were entered on the charges of aggravated sexual assault and kidnapping.

Justice Burrows heard victim impact statements and then sentenced Laboucan to the mandatory term of life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.

Laboucan can apply under the “faint hope” clause to get out of jail on parole in 2020, 15 years into his jail sentence.

victim impact statements | Laboucan's statement
Courtepatte family reaction | Briscoe family reaction
Briscoe's release | Peacha Atkinson | Briscoe's Edmonton Journal interview
details of Burrows' decision

When Justice Burrows announced his findings of guilt, there was an emotional divide in the courtroom marked by waves of tears and applause.

As Burrows announced his finding of Laboucan guilty, Nina's mother Peacha Atkinson wept while the dead girl's extended family applauded.

When Briscoe was found not guilty on all counts, it was the accused who wept with only his father applauding.

“If [Courtepatte's family] can clap when [Laboucan is] found guilty, I'm going to clap when Michael's found not guilty,” Albert Briscoe said later outside court. “That's my boy up there.”

Seven of Nina's family members gave emotional victim impact statements.

The torment of the two years since Nina's death and the 32 days of sometimes-gruesome testimony caused all to speak through choked voices and tears.

Peacha Atkinson and her youngest daughter Annie stood together on the witness stand, holding each other's hands.

“If tears could build a stairway, and memories a lane, I would walk right up to heaven, and bring you home again,” Peacha told the hushed courtroom.

Atkinson spoke of how protective her daughter was of her younger siblings.

“But no one was there on that night to protect her preciousness,” she said. “My heart bleeds because of that.”

She addressed Laboucan directly.

“You took her precious soul from me, my shining star, my beautiful angel.”

Annie, 11, younger than her sister was when she was killed, told court how she missed Nina painting her nails and protecting her from people who would bother her.

Squeezing her mother's hand the girl said, “I feel bad, mad, hurt and sad. I miss Nina a whole bunch.”

"Why did you kill Nina? I miss Nina a lot. Ten out of ten I miss her."

"I wish I had a wish. I wish Nina would still be alive."

"Why did you kill my sister? That was really dumb. I want all of you to be electrocuted so you can feel what it is like," said the girl.

Nina's brother, Darcy Courtepatte, 14, spoke of how "good" his sister was.

He said people were always feeling sorry for him, but he said they should feel sorry for the killers.

"Cause if I ever get my hands on them, they will wish they were never alive," he said.

Another brother, 28-year-old Patrick, described how the murder has destroyed his own faith and confidence.

“I hesitate now at every corner and crossroads,” he said.

“I don't want to associate with anyone for fear of loss. There is an unsatisfiable wrath from the hole in our hearts ... no justice will ever wake me from this nightmare, which is what I call my new life.”

He said he remembered every word, every kiss and hug and every moment of anger he shared with his sister.

He added he will "forever feel this ache in my heart" and "no justice will ever wake me up from this nightmare."

Gord Atkinson, Peacha's brother, said his "sweet Nina" was a beautiful and gifted girl.

Others described her as "proud of her Cree heritage" and "an aspiring model, actress, singer and artist."

"My heart is broken. How could they do this hideous act?" asked another one of Nina's brothers in his statement.

The attention of the court then turned to Joseph Laboucan for his statement.

Laboucan wept as he stood and faced the gallery.

“Nina Courtepatte was a very beautiful person in a lot of ways. She was a great person. I'm sorry I didn't save your daughter ... I'm sorry Mrs. Atkinson.”

“I should have saved your daughter. I didn't. I let her down.”

“I did not hurt her. I believe there was no justice done here.”

Laboucan then took the opportunity to suggest who he felt was responsible for Nina's death.

He said the man who was guilty had been let free and suggested Michael Briscoe will now prey on someone else's daughter.

"A person I believe was blatantly guilty was let go today.”

After an hour of hearing statements, Burrows sentenced Laboucan to life in prison, with no chance of parole for 25 years.

As Laboucan was being led away to begin serving his sentence, Nina's uncle Regan Atkinson yelled out: “Rot in jail you fucking goof.”

Later speaking to media Laboucan's lawyer, Laurie Wood, said she planned to appeal the verdict.

"He's devastated. He's very upset at the conviction. My client has maintained he's not guilty and still maintains he's not guilty."

"He did apologise to the family today and told them basically that he was very sorry that he didn't step in to try and save the young girl."

Update: On April 13th, 2007 the Crown announced it was appealing Justice Burrows' acquittal of Michael Briscoe.

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Later outside court, two families with two different interpretations of the trial's outcome squared off against media cameras.

Nina's uncle Gordon Atkinson said he wasn't impressed with Laboucan's apology.

“I think he should have just kept his mouth shut after what he done,” Atkinson said. "He's trying to suck up to the family, I guess ... "

"He's been bullshittin' all the way through the trial. He's still bullshittin' right to the end. He's going to bullshit right to his grave I think about this."

Atkinson then made a prediction.

“I don't think he's going to last long in jail. He went through the court system here. Now when he goes to the pen ... he's going to go through Warrior Justice. There's no chance of parole with them."

Atkinson expressed his displeasure with Briscoe's acquittal.

“He gets to walk the street a free man while my niece was cremated two years ago,” he said.

"He doesn't deserve to be walking the streets."

He went on to describe the family's reaction to the acquittal.

"Disappointed, mad, angry. I'm not sure it can be appealed but hope it can."

"Briscoe was just as involved as Laboucan and the other three people."

"Like he was there, he was an accomplice, he was there, he seen what happenned, he was part of it."

Some of Nina's other relatives felt much the same as Gordon.

"They can't even charge him for another charge?" demanded Regan Atkinson, another of Nina's uncles.

"Lesser or something as equal anyway – he was there."

Cousin Jodie Bochon offered her view of the proceedings and its outcome.

"I thought it was an absolute joke."

"That's our justice system: it's there for the criminal, it's not there for the victim, it's not there for the families."

Another family member, not identified, was asked for his comment as he left the courthouse.

"The only one that I have is that I hope they rot in hell."

Moments later and a few steps away, it was the Briscoe family who felt the media crush.

"Oh boy, there's a God after all, there really is," Michael Briscoe's mother Violet sighed.

"I prayed so hard I got bruises on my knees."

CTV Edmonton's David Ewasuk asked the woman if she ever lost hope.

"Nope. I got scared but I never lost hope."

Informed that the relatives of Nina Courtepatte weren't satisfied with the acquittal of her son, Violet expressed her sympathy.

"Well I feel very sorry for her but if he didn't do it then why would they wan't him to be committed if he didn't have anything to do with it."

"I wish I could take some of the pain away, but I can't. But my son didn't do it. He just stood there like a dummy."

"Pardon my words, but that’s what he did. He didn’t run. He should have ran.”

Darren Briscoe, Michael's older brother, expressed his opinion of the outcome.

"I'm very happy that the system actually worked. I've always maintained his innocence."

"Maybe he was around those people but I know he would never lay a hand on a child."

“He loves kids. He loves pets. He’s not a violent person.”

Darren also extended his thoughts to the Courtepatte family.

"I'm really sorry that their child was killed."

"This is not a good world we live in. People that are guilty have to be convicted; people that are inncocent have to be let go. Simple as that."

Albert Briscoe, Michael's father, agreed with Darren.

“I’m happy, elated,” he said. “He always gets tangled up with the wrong people, but he’s not a killer.”

Violet said she first found out about the murder when her son called her to say: “I finally hit rock bottom. There’s been something committed and they think I done it, and I had nothing to with it. I was at the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people.”

She told media that Michael, who has four children of his own, has the mental capacity of a 17 year old with brain damage the result of a breached birth.

She suggested his greatest failing was that he is too trusting of people.

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A media vigil outside the Edmonton Remand Centre was rewarded with the release of Michael Briscoe late in the afternoon.

The first reporter to catch the man as he took his first steps of freedom in almost two years was CBC Edmonton's Janice Johnston.

"Can you tell us how it feels? Is this the outcome that you expected?"

A surprised and sheepish Briscoe hesitated as he spoke, having been cautioned by his lawyer Charles Davison to guard his comments.

"No. I didn't think I was going to get a chance to redeem myself."

"It feels horrible because I haven't had a chance to apologise to the people for ... I don't know. I said I can't talk right now."

Briscoe then took one look back the remand centre and briskly walked away from the cameras, his head swivelling around nervously.

Hours later, Briscoe told a reporter he was frightened that he was about to be attacked.

"I was scared. Maybe people from inside the jail [were trying to get at me], I don't know," he said.

"Maybe it's paranoia, and that's what I'm trying to get over so I can get on with my life."

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The Briscoe-Laboucan trial drew the attention of CBC's National news program, which carried a brief but concise summary of the trial.

Absent from the media spotlight of the day was Peacha Atkinson, Nina's mother.

While the trial of Joseph Laboucan and Michael Briscoe had ended, the trial of Briscoe's girlfriend "Cindy" is still underway. And in just over a month's time, the trial of Buffy, Pyro's girlfriend, is set to take place.

Peacha remained close to family and friends at the conclusion of the day's events. For the diminutive aboriginal woman, reliving the ordeal of her daughter's death had yet to finish.

However, on March 26th, 2007 – during a break in the "Cindy" trial and three days after Justice Burrows' decision – Atkinson spoke to CTV Edmonton's David Ewasuk about how she felt when the verdicts for Briscoe and Laboucan were read.

"Numb. That's about it because you never know what the judge is going to decide. I stayed that way for the whole day."

She said her daughter's spirit was near her when Laboucan was convicted of first-degree murder.

"I felt that Nina was finally – how would you say it – satisfied with what happened, she would have been happy with what happened."

But Atkinson said she would reserve her opinion of Michael Briscoe and the support he received from his family.

"I'm sure that he was brought up properly and that his parents showed him right from wrong and I can't ever take that from them."

"But I have to collect my thoughts and I do not want to jeopardise anything that's coming up or may come up," she said referring to the current trial and one set to take place May 1st.

“Until everything is over and said and done, that's when I'll make up my mind,” Atkinson said.

Having sat through three preliminary hearings and one main trial, along with the hearing where Pyro admitted guilt to first-degree murder she admitted, “It's been tiring, straining, just basically getting run down.”

“But when they see me sitting there, they see Nina. And that's why I'm there.”

Atkinson said she had no issue with Briscoe's father Albert clapping in the courtroom after Briscoe was found not guilty.

“I thought, ‘Good for him,' because if it was my child I would have clapped, too.”

Atkinson said she felt some sympathy for the Briscoes.

“I don't hate them. I'm sure they did a good job bringing up their children as best as they could. I know their hearts are glad that he's out of jail, and I am kind of glad for that, because at least they get to hug him.”

Akinson announced that on March 31st the Courtepatte family was planning to hold a traditional round dance to honour Nina.

The event was to be held at the Canadian Native Friendship Centre, 11205 101 Street, from five to midnight and the general public was welcome.

Akinson said her daughter enjoyed going to pow wows and watching aboriginal dancers perform in their traditional dress.

“When the public could dance, she would go up their and dance,” she recalled for the Edmonton Sun.

The families of murdered teens Shane Rolston and Josh Hunt were also expected to attend.

“The feast and dancing is in honour of the loved ones that passed on,” Atkinson said. She described the event as more of a celebration than a wake.

“The pain and everything will all be there, but it's to honour their life. People will be remembering the happy memories.”

Atkinson said she had collected nearly 1,000 signatures so far on her petition to the federal government, calling for youth charged in “horrendous crimes” to be tried in adult court and be publicly identified.

She hoped to gather about 500,000 signatures by August 2007 and planned to personally deliver the petition to Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Ottawa.

“I'm going all the way to the top,” she said. “If not him, then the closest person I can get to.”

Update: On March 30th, 2007 Peacha Atkinson launched a new petition calling for an appeal of Michael Briscoe's acquittal.

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Michael Briscoe sounds like a man haunted by many things, but mostly by his failure to act during the most critical and defining moment of his life.

So began an article written by Edmonton Journal reporter Shawn Ohler after he gained an exclusive interview with the just-acquitted man.

"It rips me apart, eh, when I think about the situation," Michael told the reporter at his brother Darren's home.

"I hate thinking back to it. [Not stopping Nina's killers], it's probably a lot of why I feel the way I do."

The reporter said Briscoe sounded overwhelmed by the fruitless life he led before moving to Alberta in 2004, his arrest the next April, the nearly two years in spent in jail, and by the paranoia he felt immediately after his release.

He felt exhilaration, too, but also shock, depression and confusion.

"Honestly? I don't know what to feel," said Briscoe.

"I feel like I'm happy to be out, but at the same time I feel really down because I've already seen that (Nina's family) aren't happy."

"I kind of thought maybe it'd be possible for them to believe in me a little bit more, because the whole time I was locked up in there, I was on the side of those people. And that poor girl."

Speaking of that night on the golf course, Briscoe said he couldn't help Nina because he "weighed about 145 pounds" and Laboucan was more than 100 pounds heavier and had threatened him several times before that night.

Under advice from his lawyer not to answer questions about Nina's murder, Briscoe did reveal that he thought no one would accept his story, even his own family.

"I didn't know if anyone believed in me or not, and I started not to believe in myself anymore," he said.

Briscoe admitted to Ohler that he had a troubled past, following "many routes in my life that didn't lead anywhere."

A breached birth left him with brain damage. He had served time in jail for property and vehicle offences. He nearly died once from crystal meth use and is a recovering cocaine addict. He has four children with four different mothers.

His release from the remand centre was so disorienting that he didn't recognise his 15-year-old son. The teen is being raised near Westlock by Briscoe's mother, Violet.

"He's pretty big," Briscoe said, allowing himself a rare smile.

After his release, he tried speaking long-distance with a 12-year-old daughter from one of his two failed marriages. "We still don't know what to say to each other," he admitted to the Journal.

Briscoe said he wasn't in contact with the other two children. "I pretty much think they've disowned me. That's one of the losses I've lost. Hopefully, they'll talk to me one day."

Now a free man, he vowed to change, and to "redeem himself" in the eyes of the public.

"The last route I took was my favourite thing – helping people, protecting them – and I ended up in jail."

"I hit rock bottom. And now I'm going to stay positive. Learn how to think better, stay out of bad predicaments, bad areas, judge people better. Better judgment," he said.

"Not be afraid. Of life. And that's how I'll stay out of jail. I'd work if someone would like me to work for them. That's all I ever wanted to do. I can do lots of things. I just need time to get my head back together."

He still had two major conflicts to work out in his mind, it seemed. One is his opinion of his former girlfriend "Cindy", on trial for Nina's murder as he was released. Briscoe had just days earlier testified at her trial.

Asked if he regretted the day he met her, he said: "In a way, yes, in a way, no."

She was the one, he said, who introduced him to Laboucan, which ultimately led to him being with charged with Nina's murder.

On the other hand, when he was trying to get her off drugs, "she was the only friend I had, even though she was going through withdrawals from drugs and stuff. I probably don't really know the real her."

The other conflict was what he should say, if anything, to Nina's family.

"It's a very touchy subject for me. It tears you apart. I don't want to offend them, but at the same time, I want them, oh, I don't know," he said, sighing.

"That's why I want to take some time to contemplate my thoughts. That's if they ever want to hear them."

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In the deciding the fate of Joseph Laboucan and Michael Briscoe, Court of Queen's Bench Justice Brian Burrows determined the Crown had proven its case against one of the accused, but had not proven the other had either committed the crimes or aided or abetted to commit the crimes.

Briscoe and Laboucan had each been charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault. The latter charges were stayed against Laboucan, while Briscoe was acquitted of all charges.

In his written decision, Burrows ruled the Crown had proven that Laboucan had said he wanted to "kill someone for fun" before selecting Nina at random from a crowd in the West Edmonton Mall food court.

The judge also ruled it was proven that, just prior to the killing, Laboucan told a story involving rituals where people are killed and then brought back to life.

Burrows placed considerable weight on the testimony of a young offender named Buffy. The girlfriend of another young offender – Pyro, who had already pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in December 2006 – Buffy faces the same charges as her co-accused at her own trial set for May 1st, 2007.

Buffy testified Laboucan raped and bludgeoned Nina. She admitted she herself took part in the planning and execution of Nina's murder, such as stabbing Nina and holding her down so the girl could be hit with the sledgehammer.

The fact she incriminated herself lent credibility to her version of events, Burrows determined.

“Falsely testifying that Mr. Laboucan hit Ms. Courtepatte in the head would not reduce whatever culpability flows from the acts she acknowledges she did herself,” the judge stated.

Laboucan had a great motive to be untruthful at the trial, Burrows continued, and his testimony was inconsistent with the evidence of the other witnesses and also contradicted statements Laboucan himself had given to the police shortly after the homicide.

Laboucan told the police that he knew a 17-year-old co-accused [Briscoe's girlfriend "Cindy"] had a concealed wrench with her at the golf course, but at trial he claimed this must have been a lie because he didn't know anything about a wrench until he saw the 17-year-old strike Nina with it.

Burrows said he did not believe Laboucan's claim of innocence at trial nor that he was in a state of mental shock at the time of the murder.

Burrows described Laboucan's testimony as “radically inconsistent with the evidence of other witnesses who have no, or at least less, reason to be untruthful.”

Regarding Michael Briscoe, the judge ruled the Crown had not proven he had either committed the crimes or aided or abetted Laboucan to commit the crimes.

Burrows found Briscoe's statement to police “reasonably compelling.” He said the interviewing officer wasn't able to break Briscoe's version of events, which Burrows found to be consistent with stories from other witnesses.

Buffy's testimony was also crucial in Briscoe's case in that she had no reason to protect Briscoe. She also didn't directly implicate him in kidnapping and beating Nina to death, Burrows wrote.

The judge noted a number of facts tied Briscoe to Nina's death. Briscoe drove Laboucan, Nina and four other “mall rats” to the golf course; he knew Laboucan wanted to scare Nina; he handed Laboucan a pair of pliers from the trunk of his car; he angrily told Nina to be quiet when she was screaming after she had first been hit with a wrench; and he was present while Laboucan and a 17-year-old teen nicknamed Pyro raped and bludgeoned Nina to death.

"Though he assisted Mr. Laboucan by driving, locating an isolated spot and telling Ms. Courtepatte to be quiet, it is at least as likely that he did each of these things with entirely innocent intentions as that he did them with the intention of assisting Mr. Laboucan," the judge decided.

Burrows stated the Crown failed to prove a crucial element of the charge against Briscoe, that he knew Laboucan had a plan to rape and murder Nina and that he wanted this to happen.

“One might speculate that if Mr. Briscoe knew Mr. Laboucan had taken tools from the trunk, that he also knew Mr. Laboucan's purpose as to do something harmful with them. But speculation is not proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” Burrows ruled.

While Laboucan and Pyro both said Briscoe hit Nina with the sledgehammer, Burrows rejected that testimony, saying he found both Laboucan and Pyro lacked all credibility.

During the trial, Briscoe's lawyer Charles Davison portrayed his client as a dupe, who unwittingly drove the mall rats out to the golf course.

Briscoe had little idea about what they were up to, and was mainly afraid that he himself was the intended target of their ill-intent, Davison had argued.

While Laboucan's lawyer, Laurie Wood, had indicated her client intended to launch an appeal of the guilty verdict, there was no word from the Crown's office if an appeal of Briscoe's acquittal was in the works.

Both appeals have to be filed within 30 days of Burrows' decision.

The complete 74 page decision can be read online (opens as a 329kb .pdf document).

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On April 13th, 2007 the Crown announced it was appealing Justice Burrows' acquittal of Michael Briscoe.

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 - march 23rd, 2007