WARNING: This story contains content some readers may find disturbing.
As the trial of Blake Schreiner resumed Tuesday in Saskatoon, testimony illuminated the brutality with which his late partner Tammy Brown was killed.
Saskatchewan’s chief forensic pathologist, Dr. Shaun Ladham, gave his determination that the 39-year-old was stabbed around 80 times. Primarily located in her torso and arms, some of the knife wounds were accompanied by fractured bones.
He deemed Brown’s cause of death to be “numerous stab wounds to the body, including blood loss and direct organ damage.”
Schreiner is charged with first-degree murder in Brown’s death, which occurred at the couple’s home on Kootenay Drive. On Jan. 29, 2019, Schreiner called 911 to report his partner had suffered “multiple stab wounds.”
On Tuesday, court also heard testimony from Sgt. Lorne Keen who walked through the north end home twice on the day of Schreiner’s arrest. He photographed the exterior and interior of the home, along with a parked truck.
His images show numerous bloodstained items throughout the house, including a roll of tape next to what appears to be a child’s onesie. In a bathroom next to the master bedroom, Keen photographed a ring with blood on it.
Under cross examination by the defence, Keen agreed there didn’t appear to be an attempt to a hide the knife and it was easily seen by anyone who walked into Tammy’s bedroom.
The witness also agreed that there were no signs of an attempted cleanup or a break and enter — real or staged.
The Crown closed its case after hearing from Tuesday’s two witnesses, in addition those heard earlier this year.
In an interview with Saskatoon police Sgt. Kory Ochitwa, Schreiner said he slept in a different room from Brown. When he woke up, the accused “got onto a bad track” and heard a voice saying “the kids.”
Schreiner admits to carrying out the fatal stabbing, but the central question of his trial is what his state of mind was at the time of the killing.
During his police interview, Schreiner said he covered Brown’s body with a duvet and rested the knife atop the cover. He closed the bedroom door and made his children breakfast, thinking it would be the last time he’d see them, Schreiner told the officer.
Before calling police, Schreiner said he got into his vehicle and drove from Saskatoon’s north end onto Circle Avenue, across 8th Street and through downtown before returning home.
During the police interview, which was played in court when the trial began in March, Schreiner said the couple had been fighting for roughly one year.
The night before the stabbing, they’d had dinner and watched a movie, he said. Their conversation eventually turned to separating, which they’d considered for a month or two, according to Schreiner.
He told Ochitwa that Brown wanted full custody of the children and was willing to make “innuendos” about him.
“She pretty much said, ‘I’ll make it so you’re a pedophile and I’ll put you away in jail,’” he said.
“That’s f—–g sick,” Schreiner said. “I love those kids.”
On Tuesday, defence lawyer Brad Mitchell indicated Blake Schreiner will take the stand in his own defence. Court is also expected to receive reports from a psychiatrist and psychologist.