WINNIPEG – Lawyers are to make their final pitches today in the case of a man accused of killing an Indigenous teenage girl in Manitoba and dumping her body in the Red River.
Jurors are to hear final arguments at the Winnipeg trial of 56-year-old Raymond Cormier, who has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the August 2014 slaying of 15-year-old Tina Fontaine.
The girl’s death reignited calls for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women.
The trial heard that there were no witnesses to Tina’s death and no DNA linking her to Cormier, while experts testified they don’t know how she died.
Prosecutors said Cormier killed Tina, because he had sex with her and then found out she wasn’t age of consent.
The Crown presented audio recordings from a six-month undercover operation in which Cormier is heard telling multiple people he was attracted to the girl.
In one recording, he is heard arguing with a woman and telling her he “finished the job.”
Cormier’s lawyer argued the recordings could have been misheard and the transcripts could have errors.
The defence closed its case last week without presenting any evidence.
(The Canadian Press)
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