Fourth accused on trial for Cooper’s murder

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This article was published 01/06/2010 (5580 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG — A Winnipeg jury has heard a dramatic 911 call which captures a woman’s final moments alive.

Blair Johnson broke down in tears Tuesday as he testified about finding Audrey Cooper nude and unconscious outside his downtown apartment block. A tape of his frantic call for help was played in court.

“Her face is really swollen. She’s been beaten really bad. Her head is caved in,” Johnson told the dispatcher. “If you don’t hurry up, she’s going to be dead.”

Cooper, 34, didn’t survive the random October 2006 attack, which police have called one of the worst homicides in recent memory.

The woman suffered 64 separate injuries in the unprovoked attack, including seven broken ribs, a lacerated liver, swelling that shut both of her eyes and bleeding on the brain. Her killers also removed her clothes and stole loose change from her pockets.

An 18-year-old man — who can’t be named because he was 15 at the time of the slaying — is now on trial for second-degree murder. Three teenaged girls have already pleading guilty to their roles.

Johnson told court he woke up to sounds of a struggle outside of his Spence Street rooming house. He walked outside and found Cooper laying unconscious near the front doorway. A teenaged boy had been “hovering” over her body but quickly fled.

He ran back to his suite to call 911 and grab a blanket to cover her up. Johnson gave the dispatcher frequent updates about Cooper’s breathing, which was becoming increasingly shallow. He also cleared her airway and was told to start CPR, only to have police and paramedics arrive on scene to take over.

Johnson said he knew Cooper from the neighbourhood and was stunned at the brutality of what was done to her.

“I knew her enough to know she was a pleasant young girl,” he said. Defence lawyer Ian Histed questioned whether Cooper was a cocaine addict who had worked in the sex trade. Johnson said he believed that was true.

Police arrested four suspects — the boy, a 12-year-old girl and two 14-year-old girls. The youngest girl pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter and was given the maximum sentence of two years custody and one year of community supervision. She will be called as a witness against the young man. The two other girls pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and were given the maximum youth sentence of four years of custody and three years of community supervision.
 

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