Robotti’s fate in hands of the jury
Deliberations begin today over January 2015 murder of Roxanne Louie
KELOWNA — It is now up to a jury to decide if Grace Robotti should be found guilty of murdering Roxanne Louie or not.
Crown counsel and the defence presented their final submissions to the jury in Kelowna Supreme Court Wednesday morning.
The jury, consisting of seven men and five women, is expected to begin deliberations this morning after receiving their final instructions from Justice Dev Dley.
Robotti, 67, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Louie, a 26-year-old member of the Osoyoos Indian band.
Louie’s son, who was three years old at the time of her death, is Robotti’s great-grandson.
Robotti admitted to killing Louie by hitting her in the head repeatedly with a crowbar on Jan. 4, 2015, but she pleaded not guilty to murder.
Defence lawyer James Pennington is arguing self-defence and provocation were factors in the killing.
“Grace Robotti killed Roxanne Louie, but she did not commit second-degree murder,” he said.
Robotti and Louie often argued about the way Louie’s son was being cared for.
Sometime after midnight on Jan. 4, the two women got into another argument at Robotti’s Penticton home.
“It wasn’t the usual rant that (Robotti) was able to deflect,” said Pennington. “Without warning, out of the blue, Ms. Louie launches what could only be determined as a violent and completely unprovoked attack.”
Louie threw a small crowbar in Robotti’s direction, hitting the wall a couple of feet away. She then picked up the crowbar off the floor, at which point Robotti said she began to panic.
“I didn’t know if she was going to hit me or hit other things,” she said during cross-examination last week.
In his address to the jury, Pennington reminded the jury Louie had a history of violence and had been flagged by police as being violent and mentally unstable.
“Ms. Robotti, when being confronted with this weapon, would know from her own experience, that the person she’s dealing with is quite capable of inflicting serious bodily harm if she gets the opportunity,” said Pennington.
Robotti struck Louie with the crowbar in an effort to defend herself, he said. “You do what you can to save yourself.” One of the female jurors was brought to tears during Pennington’s submissions.
Crown prosecutor Mallory Treddenick argued Robotti’s actions showed she did intend to kill Louie that night.
“Ms. Robotti did not pick up the crowbar from the floor and begin to strike Ms. Louie in the head with it until after (her brother) Pier Robotti pulled Ms. Louie off Ms. Robotti, until after Pier Robotti had pinned Ms. Louie to the floor, until after Pier Robotti and Ms. Robotti had disarmed Ms. Louie,” said Treddenick.
“Ms. Robotti struck Ms. Louie with the crowbar while Ms. Louie was on her back and while Mr. Robotti was controlling or attempting to control Ms. Louie’s hands and arms.”
Grace Robotti could have simply held onto Louie’s arms and helped her brother until Louie stopped fighting, said Treddenick.
She also argued if Robotti had intended only to shock Louie or to get her to stop fighting, as Robotti testified, Robotti could have hit her somewhere other than the head.
“The target speaks volumes about Ms. Robotti’s criminal intention,” she said.
To find Robotti guilty of murder, the jury must accept that the Crown has proven beyond reasonable doubt that Robotti committed a guilty act and that she intended to either kill Louie or to cause bodily harm she knew was likely to cause death.
If the jury does not believe Robotti is guilty of murder, but they believe Robotti was provoked by Louie, they can find her guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.