Significant amount of blood found behind till, jury in murder trial told
EDMONTON A jury viewed graphic photos showing the aftermath of two fatal robberies in a double first-degree murder trial Tuesday.
Laylin Cole Alex Delorme stood and pleaded not guilty to two counts each of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm in connection to the shooting deaths of Mac’s workers Ricky Massin Cenabre and Karanpal Singh Bhangu on Dec. 18, 2015.
The two men were killed at separate Mac’s locations where they worked: Cenabre at a store at 10845 61 Ave., and Bhangu at a Mill Woods shop at 3208 82 St.
In an opening statement, Crown prosecutor John Watson told the jury they will hear evidence that in both robberies, three males whose faces were covered by bandanas entered the stores brandishing a machete and a handgun.
In both instances, the clerks were beaten and cash and cigarettes were stolen. As the trio left the stores, one of the suspects shot the clerks, Watson said.
Watson said the jury will hear that each clerk was shot by a different gunman.
The jury will also hear evidence about three suspects arrested in the hours after the killings when police began pursuing a Honda Fit believed to be involved in the robberies.
The vehicle led police on a chase until it crashed on Whitemud Drive near Terwillegar Drive, court heard. Police arrested three suspects found in the Honda — Delorme, Colton James Steinhauer and another male.
Inside the car, investigators discovered a machete, a loaded handgun and bandanas, Watson said.
Prosecutors plan to call about 35 witnesses, including experts who will give evidence about firearms and DNA analysis.
The Crown’s first witness was Edmonton police Sgt. Bradley Redl, who photographed the scenes at the Whitemud crash and at the two Mac’s stores. He said when he and other forensic investigators arrived at the store on 61 Avenue, everything looked relatively normal when they first walked in.
But as they approached the till, the police noticed cigarette packages strewn about and the beginning of a blood trail.
“Behind the till, there was a significant amount of blood,” Redl said, adding Cenabre’s body was found near the back of the store.
The judge gave the jury instructions before the Crown opened its case, including a directive for jurors to disabuse themselves of any pre-existing stereotypes or prejudices they may hold about Indigenous people. The judge noted Delorme is an Indigenous man.
Delorme, wearing a button-up grey shirt, sat at the defence table next his lawyer, Naeem Rauf.