Guilty verdict offers hope for other victims, family says

CALGARY — Loved ones of a Calgary woman killed in February 2015 sobbed and held each other after a jury found Curtis Healy guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Dawns Baptiste.

“I’m still shaking,” cousin Verlyn Baptiste said outside court Friday.

Healy, 29, slouched in his seat after the verdict was read. A first-degree murder conviction carries a life sentence. The jury heard Healy and Baptiste met on a light-rail transit train while she was on her way to stay at a friend’s house. After they’d exited the train early Feb. 11, 2015, Baptiste told Healy to leave her alone. The rejection enraged him and he stomped on her head, hit her with a liquor bottle and dragged her into a stranger’s back yard.

He then raped the unconscious or semi-unconscious woman and struck her head with a large rock.

Healy told a detective he had done so to “finish her off” in a video statement shown to jurors.

In addition to the confession, the Crown had DNA evidence showing blood on Healy’s shoes was a match for Baptiste and that semen found on Baptiste was a match for Healy’s.

The defence asked the jury to convict Healy of second-degree murder because the sequence of events was unclear. Jury deliberations were paused for several hours on Friday after it was revealed jurors had drinks the previous night in their hotel restaurant, where televisions were switched on and other patrons were present.

Healy’s lawyer asked for a mistrial but Justice Charlene Anderson denied the request. They came back with a verdict about an hour after they were told to resume.

Baptiste’s brother Alex, said the verdict shows families of other missing and murdered Indigenous women shouldn’t give up hope.

“Don’t let go. Believe that the justice system would ... protect all the women,” he said.

— The Canadian Press