The social worker who brought Tina Fontaine to the Charterhouse Hotel after a trip to the hospital told the court Wednesday she was concerned when Fontaine told her she was hanging out with a meth user.
Fontaine was taken to Health Sciences Centre the morning of Aug. 8, 2014 — the last day she was seen alive.
Kimberley Chute testified on day 8 of the murder trial of Raymond Cormier, who is charged with killing Fontaine.
Chute was notified Fontaine was in the hospital and went to accompany her though she was not the girl’s primary social worker.
She said the teen seemed intoxicated and took her McDonald’s before dropping her off at the hotel where she was meant to stay the night.
On the way, Chute said Fontaine told her she was spending time with a 62-year-old man named Sebastian who used meth. Chute expressed her concern, but left Fontaine with another social worker who was at the hotel.
READ MORE: Former police officers testify on day 7 of Cormier trial
The doctor who treated Fontaine at the HSC the day she went missing also testified Wednesday. Dr. Andrea Wilkie Gilmore said she urged the teen not to run away from child and family services.
Wilkie Gilmore said Fontaine arrived at the ER around 10:45 a.m. Aug. 8, 2014, after being picked up outside a U of W building where she had been found sleeping.
She said Fontaine was unwilling to talk to her and avoided eye contact. A number of tests showed the teen had cocaine, marijuana, amphetamines and alcohol in her system.
The court has already heard Fontaine was an exploited youth.
Her great-aunt previously testified the teen had struggled with the murder of her father and was in Winnipeg that summer to try and reconnect with her biological mom.
The doctor said she was concerned Fontaine had been sexually exploited and tried to warn her of the dangers she could be in, before the girl was discharged that afternoon.
The 15-year old’s body was discovered in the Red River nine days later.
Raymond Cormier is charged with second degree murder in Fontaine’s death. He has maintained his innocence since being arrested.
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