Trial begins for man accused of shooting pregnant woman in East Vancouver

The trial of a man accused of shooting a pregnant woman in the stomach in East Vancouver last year began on at B.C. Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Carleton Stevens has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and possession of a prohibited firearm in the attack on his 31-year-old ex-girlfriend on May 18, 2018.

The victim, whose name remains under a publication ban, lost her unborn child in the attack.

On Tuesday, Crown prosecutor Joanna Medjuck told the court the six-and-a-half-month pregnant victim was sleeping in a loft on Industrial Avenue near Station Street when she awoke to see her ex standing at the foot of her bed.

“He shot her once in the stomach,” said Medjuck. “The bullet went through the entirety of her uterus and severed the umbilical cord.”

The court heard that when a C-section was later performed on the victim, the fetus had no heartbeat and was declared dead.

The victim still has a bullet lodged in her spine, the court heard.

The man who was sleeping next to the victim when the attack happened engaged Stevens in a struggle, Medjuck told the court.

The Crown’s theory is that Stevens had accused the victim of infidelity, and that she and the man the victim was with on the day of the attack had both received death threats by text message.

The Crown’s case hinges on conclusively proving Stevens was the gunman.

Security video captured at the scene shows two men leaving the print shop under the loft in the minutes after the shooting.

Medjuck said several witnesses will testify to seeing Stevens holding a gun, and that the accused is wearing similar running shoes to those seen in the CCTV video when he was arrested several days later in Surrey.

The victim is also expected to testify.

The trial is slated to resume Wednesday.