Pathologist tells Fredericton murder trial four victims died of gunshot wounds

A forensic pathologist who conducted autopsies on the four victims of the 2018 Fredericton mass shooting testified on Friday that they all died of gunshot wounds.

Dr. Ken Obenson was the latest Crown witness to take the stand in the murder trial of Matthew Raymond, who is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Donnie Robichaud, Bobbie Lee Wright and police constables Robb Costello and Sara Burns.

READ MORE: RCMP officers describe chaotic moments after they burst into Fredericton shooter’s apartment

Raymond, 50, pleaded not guilty last month at the start of the trial.

His defence has admitted that Raymond shot and killed the four people in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Aug. 10, 2018. But the defence says Raymond was delusional and paranoid at the time of the crimes and should be found not criminally responsible because of a mental disorder.

Obenson told the court that the four bodies were taken to Saint John, N.B., for autopsy, and that RCMP officers were present.

READ MORE:Court hears that shots originated from Raymond’s apartment

He testified that the first autopsy, on Const. Costello, indicated the officer had five gunshot wounds, although one of them, he said, may have been secondary to another wound.

The second autopsy was conducted on the body of Const. Burns, who had been shot twice.

Earlier in the trial, the court was told the two officers were shot as they responded to the killing of two people in a parking lot at 237 Brookside Drive.

Obenson testified that Robichaud had five gunshot wounds, while he said Wright had been shot twice. All four victims were shot at least once in the head, he said, adding that the manner of death in each case was homicide.

1:36 Officers detail chaotic scene at Raymond’s apartment in trial

Police officers testified this week that the shots came from the window of a third-floor apartment that was part of a four-building housing complex. They described how Raymond was shot in the abdomen by police before officers stormed the apartment and arrested him.

Police said they seized a semi-automatic SKS rifle, a shotgun, about 2,000 of rounds of ammunition and a knife, from Raymond’s apartment. They also found 22 spent casings and seven spent shotgun shells in two different rooms.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2020.