It’s cased closed for the defence in the first-degree murder trial for Joseph “David” Caissie, the man accused of killing Carol King in 2011 outside of Herschel, Sask.
On Tuesday in Saskatoon, court heard testimony from the one and only star witness for the defence: a woman who placed Caissie on Aug. 6, 2011 in an entirely different province during the exact same time he’s alleged to have killed King.
During the trial witnesses, including King’s own sister, said Carol went missing that day and vanished without a trace. The last time anyone heard from her was around 3:45 p.m. and she missed a follow-up appointment with RCMP scheduled for 5 p.m. that day.
In weeks prior, King had reported Caissie to police saying she feared for her life after the one-time boyfriend began harassing her. She never made the appointment and would become the subject of a major search in the area by both law enforcement and residents.
On Aug. 27, 2011, King’s remains were found in a wooded area near an abandoned farmyard not far from where her vehicle was recovered in a slough.
The case grew cold for years but in 2016, Caissie was arrested and charged with King’s death after he confessed to killing her to undercover police officers as part of a Mr. Big sting.
Fast forward to Tuesday, when court heard from Anja Kuster who testified to working as a clerk at the Siesta Motel in 2011 in Olds, Alta.
Kuster told court she saw Caissie on Aug. 6, 2011, sometime between the hours of 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. and a second time at 9:45 p.m.
She said there was no way she could have mistakenly saw Caissie that day and during her four years at the motel, would often monitor the comings and goings of guests to ensure they paid for their stays.
Based on the time Kuster said she saw Caissie – it would make it impossible for the accused to have killed King, dump her body, destroy evidence and drive more than three and half hours to the motel arriving around supper time, suggests the defence, all within a window after 3:45 p.m.
During cross-examination, there were glaring inconsistencies that were put to the witness by the Crown.
She forgot how many times she had talked to police and when officers spoke with her. Plus, Kuster never mentioned seeing Caissie to officers the day of, but rather police reports showed she told them she saw him on Aug. 11 at 9:45 p.m.
At one point, Kuster was excused from the stand to collect herself and calm down.
“You never told police a specific time or that you saw him more than once and yet today you’re saying these things some seven years later?” questioned the Crown.
The Crown asked if Kuster could say anything with any sort of certainty from that day. The witness told court she knew it was Aug. 6 when she saw Caissie because she was assigned to work Saturdays, then conceded it could have been a different Saturday all together.
The defence elected not to call Caissie in his own defence.
Closing arguments are scheduled for Thursday.
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