Daughter of slain woman says accused cut her off as concern for mom grew
VANCOUVER — The daughter of a woman who was allegedly murdered by her boyfriend testified Tuesday about the increasing concern her family had over her missing mom.
Renee Peters was taken through her final Facebook communications with her mother and with Daniel Alphonse Paul, 45, who has pleaded not guilty to the 2015 second-degree murder of Crystal Rose Paul, 36.
Under questioning from Crown prosecutor Daniel Mulligan, Peters said that one of the last Facebook messages she got from her mom stated: “I love you my sweet, forever and ever” on Jan. 29, 2015.
The next day, Peters sent her mom a message asking her about some of her favourite crackers and got a brief reply about the wrong type of crackers, she said.
On Feb. 4, 2015, Peters — who was born in 1995 and was her mother’s eldest daughter — said she sent a message to the mother of five saying she was sick and that she loved her. She did not receive a reply.
On Feb. 18, she sent a Facebook message to Daniel Paul telling him that she hadn’t heard from her mom since late January.
“Oh really,” replied Daniel Paul on a Facebook message read out in court by Mulligan. “K. I’ll tell her when she wakes.”
In her Facebook reply, Peters said: “Awesome. Thank you so much. How are you lately?”
Daniel Paul replied: “Trying to keep busy.”
It is the Crown’s theory that in the Facebook messages, Daniel Paul was lying and trying to conceal the murder.
The Crown alleges that the fatal beating occurred closer to Jan. 29, 2015, due to the fact that communications between Peters and her mom ceased soon afterward.
At the time of the communications, Peters was living on Sto:lo Nation reserve lands near Hope while her mom was living with Daniel Paul at his apartment on East 22nd Avenue in Vancouver.
On Feb. 20, Peters sent a message to Daniel Paul telling him that her family was concerned about her missing mom and was thinking about filing a missing person’s report, the jury heard.
Daniel Paul’s response was to say, “that’s silly” and indicated that Crystal Paul hadn’t been able to contact anyone since they had pawned her phone, court heard.
On March 1, Daniel Paul sent Peters a message saying that Crystal Paul couldn’t find the pawn ticket for her phone.
Peters told the jury that about the same time, her Facebook status with Daniel Paul was changed and she could no longer see his profile.
“What did that mean to you?” asked Mulligan.
“That he either blocked me or deleted his Facebook account,” said Peters.
“Had you any contact with him or communication with him that would explain why he blocked you on Facebook?” said Mulligan. “No,” replied Peters. The Crown’s theory is that Daniel Paul beat his girlfriend to death shortly after Jan. 29, 2015, and that he lived with her decomposed remains until early March of that year, when he fled the Vancouver apartment where they had been staying. Crystal Paul’s body was discovered, and Daniel Paul was arrested on April 1, 2015.
The trial is expected to continue today with more Crown witnesses.