Volunteer fire chief tells court how farmhouse was destroyed

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This article was published 17/01/2012 (5027 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A volunteer Manitoba fire chief described Tuesday how a rural farmhouse was quickly destroyed by flames while three bodies lay inside.

Roy Toupin, who works out of the St. Leon hall, says there was nothing firefighters could do upon arrival at the scene in November 2005.

“It was just smouldering. There was nothing left. It was just a hole in the ground,” he told jurors during his morning testimony.

Investigators would later discover that the three victims inside had actually been shot to death before the crime scene was set on fire in an apparent attempt to hide the evidence.

Jérome Labossière and Michael Hince have pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder.

Fernand, 78, Rita, 74, and Rémi Labossière, 44, died in the shocking attack in St. Leon.

Crown attorney Daniel Chaput told jurors in his opening statement Monday the key witness against Labossière and Hince is another man who was charged in the killings, Jeremie Toupin. He is expected to testify that Labossière recruited him and Hince to kill his elderly parents and brother. The allegations have not been proven and both accused are presumed innocent.

Roy Toupin, the fire chief, is the father of Jeremie Toupin, jurors heard Tuesday.

Jurors are also expected to hear from members of the Labossière family about the possible motive for the killings.

RCMP Const. Cal Steinke was the first officer to arrive on scene.

He told jurors Monday afternoon the three victims were “burned beyond recognition.” He said officers also recovered a shotgun and spent shell casing from the rubble.

Manitoba’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Thambirajah Balachandra, later testified how all three victims were found to have suffered gunshot wounds to the head and upper body. Rémi Labossière also had a bullet wound in his leg. As well, there was no evidence of soot in their lungs, which proved they were dead before the fire, he said.

A friend of Jerome Labossiere, Mark Kohaykewych, told the court that he met up with with Labossiere and another man at a Winnipeg bar late November 25 to early November 26.

He said nothing “unusual” happened. Early on the 26, a man doing a routine inspection of a construction noticed the destroyed farm house.

A former tow truck driver, Evanka Wilson, also told the court she picked up a man at a home in St. Boniface and travelled down Highway 75 the morning of November 26 to go pick up a vehicle left there.    

The trial is expected to last three weeks and involve 18 witnesses.

www.mikeoncrime.com

– With files from Gabrielle Giroday