Calgary woman accused of bribing juror takes the stand

CALGARY-Erica Levin sobbed through testimony in a Calgary courtroom Tuesday. She is accused of bribing a juror in her husband’s sexual assault trial.

Levin can be seen on CCTV video from January 2013 approaching a female juror at a CTrain platform near the Calgary Courts Centre.

The Crown alleges Levin was attempting to bribe the juror by offering her a thousand dollars in a white envelope to find her husband, Aubrey Levin, not guilty of sexual assault.

Levin told the court that she carried the envelope with her every day but that it did not contain a bribe rather a suicide note.

She testified that her husband’s trail was not fair and that “gross inconsistencies in the trial” added to her depression.

Levin said that she left her husband at court and went to the CTrain platform with intentions to end her life.

She told jurors that she planned to jump in front of the CTrain and when she saw a juror she tried to pass her a suicide note.

Levin also testified repeatedly that it wasn’t a bribe.

During cross examination the Crown pointed out that Levin had other opportunities to kill herself if she wanted to and accused her of lying.

Levin maintained that she was “never going to bribe a juror”.

She added that she decided not to kill herself that day when she realized she needed to take care of her cat.

The trial will resume Wednesday.