Coworker says he urged Barton to call police

Warning: this story contains details some readers may find disturbing.

A co-worker who spoke with Bradley Barton shortly before police discovered Cindy Gladue's lifeless body in the bathtub of Barton's hotel room testified during his former colleague's manslaughter trial Wednesday.

John Sullivan worked with Barton, a long-distance furniture mover, on the job that brought Barton to Edmonton in June 2011. Gladue's body was found covered in blood in the bathtub of Barton's suite at the Yellowhead Inn on June 22, 2011.

Barton and Sullivan were part of a team moving a large shipment of furniture at an acreage outside Edmonton. The job ended up taking an extra day. Sullivan, 67, testified there were two tractor-trailer units filled with items and that because of the layout of the property, they were forced to rent a smaller “shuttle” truck to move loads between the semis and the home.

Barton ended up renting the smaller truck and spent the extra night at the Yellowhead Inn, where Gladue — a 36-year-old Indigenous woman — was last seen alive.

Sullivan stayed with a friend downtown the night before Gladue's body was found. Sometime before 8 a.m., he made his way to the Yellowhead Inn where he met with Barton after buying a pack of cigarettes.

Once in the shuttle truck, Sullivan said he told Barton “we were going to have a good day,” referring to his hope that the job would go smoothly. “Brad said to me, `Not until the cops come.'”

“I looked at him. I said what are you talking about? And he said there was a girl bleeding in the bathtub (of his hotel room).”

“Then he said that a girl had knocked on his door the night before and asked to take a shower,” Sullivan recalled. “Then Brad told me he must have passed out, and he woke up the next morning. That's when he found her.”

“I told him right away you've got to phone the cops.”

He said Barton was “not acting like himself” and seemed “bewildered.” Barton then got out of the truck and called police. Sullivan drove to the job site and talked to police later that afternoon.

The jury heard Barton's 911 call last week. In the call, Barton claimed he didn't know the woman, and that he found her the next morning in the bathtub after passing out on the bed.

Gladue died of an 11-centimetre injury to her vaginal wall. A forensic pathologist and an obstetrician/ gynecologist earlier testified the injury would require a significant amount of force to inflict.

The Crown argues the injury occurred during a sexual assault.

Defence counsel Dino Bottos suggested the injury may have been caused by a fist or hand placed in the vagina, which caused it to stretch beyond its limits.

Court earlier heard Barton knew Gladue and used her as a furniture packer when in the Edmonton area on jobs. They were seen drinking together in the hotel bar the night before her death. Before the two went to Barton's room, Barton allegedly asked a co-worker if he “would like a piece” of Gladue, before adding “what happens on the road, stays on the road.”

Later on Wednesday, a forensic toxicologist who took samples from Gladue's body testified her blood-alcohol level was around four times the legal driving limit at the time of her death.

Barton's latest trial is a retrial ordered by the Supreme Court of Canada.