Jurors in a Saskatchewan murder trial have been told that a woman accused of stabbing her boyfriend in the neck with a kitchen knife had been arguing with the man.
The Crown’s remarks came on Monday during opening statements in the second-degree murder trial of Robyn Laura Ermine.
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Ermine, 30, is charged in the death of Evan Tylan Bear.
Police have said Bear, 27, was fatally wounded at a home on the Muskoday First Nation in February 2015.
Prosecutor Jeff Lubyk said he expects to call at least 10 people to the stand, including an eye witness, Ermine’s stepsister Shelinda Vallier.
Three weeks have been set aside for the trial in Prince Albert Court of Queen’s Bench.
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Before calling his first witness, Lubyk played a 911 audio recording of calls made from the Muskoday home.
On the tape, a female speaker identifies herself as Laura and asks for an ambulance, but a second female who identifies herself as Shelinda quickly takes over the call.
“There’s blood everywhere,” the caller tearfully informs the operator before she gets instructions on how to apply pressure to the wound and perform chest compressions.
When the operator asks if Laura is still present to assist with first aid, the caller says she isn’t, then tells the operator “she left me all alone.”
As the exchange continues, the caller becomes frantic while the operator attempts to keep her calm by counting off chest compressions.
Eventually, the caller appears to lose complete control and screams Bear’s name in desperation.
“Come on! Don’t leave us Evan!” she shouts.
When asked by the operator whether the person who had stabbed Bear is still in the vicinity, the caller says she doesn’t know who was responsible.
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Sobbing could be heard from members of Bear’s family who were present in court when the audio was played. Several of them stepped outside to avoid hearing the remainder of the recording.
RCMP Sgt. Mark Goodwin, a forensic investigator with more than 11 years of experience, then took the stand.
He told court that he processed the crime scene and also visited Ermine in an RCMP cell, where he recorded drops of blood found on her foot, ear and clothing.
Emergency medical technicians and a forensic pathologist who did the autopsy on Bear are also expected to testify.
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