Ex-girlfriend of Swanson’s accused killer takes the stand

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This article was published 10/03/2016 (3845 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg man accused of raping and killing Gina Swanson spent the previous night drinking with his girlfriend — only to leave her home around the time of the deadly attack.

Jurors heard new details Thursday about the suspected timeline surrounding the 2011 case.

Schuyler Vanwissen, 31, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. Megan Taylor took the witness stand, describing how she was dating Vanwissen at the time for nearly a year. The pair had stayed at the Airport Hotel bar until about 2 a.m. on May 14.

“We were there for a few hours. It probably was a beer every 10 to 15 minutes,” said Taylor.

The couple then returned to her St. James-area home and “did some stuff” before she fell asleep around 3 a.m. Taylor said she awoke around 5:30 or 6 a.m. to the sound of Vanwissen getting up and leaving the home. She believes it was still dark and he took a Transit bus. Under cross-examination she conceded it could have been a bit later in the morning.

Jurors have previously heard Swanson had spent the evening of May 13 working a bartending shift for a social at the Dakota Community Centre. Witnesses say she left alone around 1:15 a.m. and went to her nearby Edderton Avenue residence. Her alarm system was activated at 1:27 a.m. — when the Crown believes she got home. It would then be disarmed at 6:03 a.m., which is when her killer may have arrived.

Swanson’s body would be found inside her home later that morning, around 11 a.m., by her father. She had been tied up, stabbed five times and had a plastic bag put over her face and inside her mouth. There was also semen found inside of her, which DNA tests proved to be a match to Vanwissen.

A pathologist testified earlier this week there were no signs of violent sexual trauma, and conceded under cross-examination that the presence of semen doesn’t automatically mean a sexual assault occurred.

Vanwissen’s father and stepmother were living near Swanson at the time, and he would often stay with them when he wasn’t with his girlfriend. Jurors have heard of no other connection between the two.

Taylor said Thursday she saw Vanwissen again that day, right around noon. He had $200 cash on him, which he didn’t have earlier.

Jurors heard earlier this week that someone used Swanson’s VISA card just after 7 a.m. that day — shortly after police believe she was killed. A withdrawal of $300 was made.

Under cross-examination, Taylor said she believed the money Vanwissen was carrying was as a result of selling some sheet metal that morning, as he would often do.

The pair broke off their relationship several weeks later, just prior to Vanwissen being arrested and charged once the DNA results came back.

The trial is now adjourned until Monday, when the Crown is expected to call its final two witnesses — a DNA expert, and the homicide detective who dealt with Vanwissen.

www.mikeoncrime.com