Tina Fontaine case now closed, jury to decide fate of her accused killer

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This article was published 15/02/2018 (3138 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The jury that will determine whether the man accused of killing Tina Fontaine is guilty awaits final arguments after the defence declined to present any evidence Thursday.

After two weeks and 46 witnesses, jurors have heard all of the evidence they’ll have to consider before they deliver a verdict in Raymond Cormier’s second-degree murder trial.

Cormier, 56, has pleaded not guilty to killing the 15-year-old girl in August 2014 in a high-profile homicide that renewed calls for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

Cormier’s defence lawyers told the jury Thursday they weren’t going to introduce any evidence of their own, meaning the accused won’t testify and the case is closed.

Crown prosecutors have no DNA evidence linking Cormier to Tina’s death. Her body was found in the Red River on Aug. 17, 2014, wrapped in a duvet cover that had been tied around her with simple knots and weighed down with rocks.

Advanced decomposition prevented the pathologist who conducted an autopsy on her 72-pound, 5-3 frame from pinpointing the cause of death, and there were no signs of major injuries, court heard.

Some possible causes, including drowning, smothering or drug overdose couldn’t be ruled out.

The Sagkeeng First Nation girl had been visiting Winnipeg that summer for what was supposed to be a weeklong trip to see her mother. She didn’t return to Sagkeeng and was apprehended by Child and Family Services, only to be reported missing four times in a month as she ran from her CFS placements and may have been sexually exploited. She befriended Cormier, a much older homeless meth addict, after meeting him on a North End street. Tina was last seen alive on Aug. 8, 2014 — the same day she told a social worker her friend “Sebastian” would get her a bicycle.

Sebastian was a name Cormier used, although he later launched a Law Enforcement Review Agency complaint against Winnipeg police over a concern police had wrongly linked the name to him and gave him identification bearing that name.

In an interview with police, Cormier admitted he would “tell everybody” his name was Sebastian.

A lengthy investigation by Winnipeg homicide detectives — six months of which included undercover work and secret wiretaps — ended with Cormier’s arrest in Vancouver in December 2015. He was previously arrested as a suspect in Tina’s death about six weeks after her body was discovered, but he wasn’t charged.

In a series of secretly recorded conversations, Cormier denied killing Tina, talked about his sexual interest in her and said his last words to her were “go jump off a bridge.” Police recorded the conversations by bugging Cormier’s apartment on Logan Avenue. They had covertly arranged for him to live there through Manitoba Housing following his release from jail on June 13, 2015. He had been behind bars on unrelated charges since he was first questioned about Tina’s slaying on Oct. 1, 2014.

In one rambling conversation, which took place Sept. 25, 2015, Cormier talked to a female acquaintance. “You ever been haunted by something?” he asked her.

“What happened there really f—ing it’s not right. F—! It’s right on the shore. So what do I do? Threw her in,” Cormier said, according to a transcript of the audio recording.

“What do you mean?” his acquaintance asked.

 

“I did Tina, f—in’ supposed to be legal and only 15. (Inaudible) no going back too. The cops said if there would have been DNA and then probably they would’ve had enough evidence to charge me you know that, for the murder of Tina Fontaine,” he continued.

In the same conversation, Cormier said, “I have never murdered anybody,” as well as “I beat two murders.”

Next week, the 11-member jury will be sequestered and begin deliberations after Crown and defence lawyers deliver their final arguments and they receive instructions from Court of Queen’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal.

The trial began with 12 jurors, but one was absent Monday after learning her mother had suffered a stroke. The next day, Joyal decided that juror would be excused and the trial would continue with 11 jurors.

 

 

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @thatkatiemay