Trial of B.C. man accused of killing, dismembering wife hears from DNA expert

WARNING: This story contains disturbing details. Reader discretion is advised.

The trial of a Langley, B.C., man accused of killing and dismembering his wife resumed on Tuesday with testimony from a DNA expert.

Obnes Regis has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and interfering with human remains in the death of Naomi Onotera, a Surrey teacher-librarian in August 2021.

Onotera’s cause of death remains unknown, as Regis cut her body into pieces and disposed of it, according to an admission of undisputed facts entered at trial.

6:30 Extended: Obnes Regis interrogation video released to Global News

The court heard Tuesday that multiple DNA samples were taken from a vast body of evidence, including human bone and tissue.

Those remains were Onotera’s, based on DNA testing, the court heard.

DNA expert Steen Harsten testified that human tissue found on a mitre saw seized from the family’s front lawn was an exact match for Onotera.

Regis’ defence did not pose any questions to Harsten.

In pre-trial evidence obtained by Global News, Regis was recorded telling Langley RCMP he hit Onotera during an argument about when to put their two-year-old daughter to bed in August 2021.

4:12 Disturbing details in case of Langley man accused of killing wife

“When I hit her, she fell down,” he told police in a videotaped interview. “A big loss, big loss, it’s hard. A big loss.”

While the trial was initially scheduled to last one month, the Crown has revealed it will only call two witnesses.

The second of those witnesses, RCMP forensic identification officer Sgt. Heather Burwell, who dismantled the mitre saw, began her testimony Tuesday.

It remains unclear if Regis will testify in his own defence. His lawyer has yet to lay out the defence’s theory of what happened.

— with files from Rumina Daya