Closing arguments heard in Saskatoon first-degree murder trial

Warning: This story contains graphic details that some readers might find disturbing. Discretion is advised.

Family and close friends of Allison Moosehunter gathered in the courtroom on Thursday to hear the closing arguments after four weeks of trial for her accused killer, Ivan (Robbie) Martell.

Moosehunter, 28, was found dead in her apartment on March 4, 2020, in the 500 block of Geary Crescent, from strangulation and fatal stab wounds.

Martell, Moosehunter’s former boyfriend, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. The charges were upgraded to first-degree murder last year.

The judge-alone trial began on Feb. 27.

Defense lawyer Patrick McDougall stood before Justice Neil Robertson Thursday to close out his case and said it was a mistake for Martell to be the only suspect in the case.

He said it would be wrong to convict someone of a crime they did not commit.

“It would be a miscarriage of justice,” McDougall said in his argument.

Martell was the last person to be seen with Moosehunter before she was found dead, according to Moosehunter’s younger brother. He testified he saw the two together at Moosehunter’s apartment on a mattress in the living room the evening of March 3, 2020.

Martell claimed in his testimony that he left Moosehunter’s place that night, while she was still alive, to sell drugs.

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He said he slept at a friend’s house the night she was murdered but couldn’t tell the court any details from that night including his friends’ last names or phone numbers or their address.

Cellphone tracking provided by a Crown witness showed Martell to be in the Fairlight area when he claimed to be in the Riversdale area.

“No one really remembers what happened three years ago,” said McDougall, referencing his own witnesses and the Crown’s.

Martell claimed to have been on drugs at the time, being an admitted drug dealer and addict, and said during his testimony he didn’t remember much.

He said he found out about Moosehunter’s death – and that he was wanted for murder – through Facebook on the afternoon of March 4.

Cellphone records showed he did not reach out to Moosehunter or her family, but he did call his father and was said by the Crown to be beyond distraught during the 14.9-second phone call.

McDougall told the court: “14.9 seconds is not enough to convict him.”

Martel was found with his father and arrested by police on March 12.

“It was a horrific scene,” said McDougall. “If you look at that scene, Robbie would have had blood head to toe.”

Martell maintained his silence for three years in the presence of police until his trial.

Crown prosecutor Linh Le argued that Martell’s alibi should not be considered in court as it came three years and 11 days after the murder.

Le claimed it is “virtually impossible to prove any details or evidence provided by the accused,” and it is “impossible for police to conduct any meaningful investigation” because of how delayed the information was.

Le said that all of the evidence in the case suggests that Moosehunter’s killer was known to her and someone with whom she shared an intimate relationship.

None of the valuables from the suite were taken and there were no signs of forced entry into the basement.

Sexual assault aspects of the scene, including evidence of Moosehunter’s pants and underwear being ripped, as well as a knife found inserted into her rectum, “represent the ultimate exploitation of a position of power over a victim,” argued Le.

She explained to the court that for a murder to be considered in the first degree, it must contain a sexual element that violates the sexual integrity of the victim.

McDougall said he was sure there is not enough evidence to convict Martell of the crime.

“The experts don’t get us there, the forensics don’t get us there, the DNA doesn’t get us there, the text communications don’t get us there.”

Justice Neil Robertson reserved his decision until May 19.