Husband charged in wife’s murder told her that he wanted to die

Friend says victim glad she suggested safety plan to flee gun enthusiast

KITCHENER — Linda Sauve was worried her husband might take his own life, after he told her he didn’t want to live anymore.

Sauve’s close friend and work supervisor, Hazel Keys, testified Thursday she took her friend out for lunch just days before she was killed and told her she was concerned.

Keys told Sauve to leave the house with her cellphone and call police the next time her husband said he wanted to die.

“Don’t try to take the gun from him,” Keys said she told Sauve.

Court also heard that in the fall, while in hospital in London, Ont., Clark Sauve had attempted to kill himself.

Keys said Linda Sauve appeared shocked at her suggestion, but after lunch said she was glad Keys had suggested a safety plan.

Keys said she was nervous about approaching the issue of guns with her friend, but knew Clark Sauve was a gun enthusiast with expertise on how to use them.

“She was afraid to go home and find Clark dead at home,” Keys said.

Sauve’s husband, Clark Sauve, 62, is on trial charged with seconddegree murder in the death of Linda Sauve, 60.

Waterloo Regional Police received a frantic 911 call from Clark Sauve in December 2014 saying that two masked intruders had beaten him and shot his wife at their Cambridge home.

She was found dead in a bed, shot in the cheek and forehead, four days after Christmas.

Clark Sauve was lying on the floor in a different bedroom, his wheelchair nearby.

He has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.

An antique Mauser semi-automatic pistol, with one bullet in the chamber and one in the magazine, was found on a floor.

In another room, police found eight or nine handguns in safes. In the garage, they found several long guns in lockers and two pails of cartridge cases.

Court heard that Clark Sauve ran a security alarm business; but in 2011 injured himself when he hit his head on a metal beam.

At one point, he suffered what appeared to be seizures and later was unable to walk. He uses a wheelchair and an oxygen tank.

Dr. William Wong, a doctor who had Clark Sauve as a patient for years, said after Sauve hit his head that he saw many specialists and no one could offer a concrete diagnosis on a specific medical problem.

Wong testified that although Suave appeared to have seizure-like symptoms, doctors could not find a medical reason for the activity.

Court was also told that the couple was having financial troubles, relying solely on her job in a medical office. Clark, who could no longer work, received a small pension.

Keys testified that she knew both the Sauves for 20-plus years. They initially cleaned the medical office where she worked and then later Linda got a job in the office.

Keys said the Sauve marriage was solid and Clark Sauve was “a good guy.”

The Sauves’ daughter, Sheri Green, testified that her father’s health slowly deteriorated after he hit his head.

She often went with him to medical appointments and to see specialists. Her father was initially diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome.

Court heard that Clark Sauve kept busy with his guns in the garage and had recently taken online courses to start a business on repairing guns.

In August 2014 he went into hospital and remained there until November.

At one point, Sauve was told his head injury gave him a life expectancy of five years and he was depressed about the news, Green testified.

He tried to kill himself while in hospital in London.

In November 2014 he returned home. He had another medical complication, went to hospital, but was back home by the end of the month.

The Sauves’ children — Green and Clifford Sauve — visited their parents during Christmas, along with other family members, including Clark’s father.

The son and daughter testified that their father seemed cheerful during the holidays. But he appeared tired with the family visits and the noise, they said.

Green said the last time she spoke to her mother, on Dec. 27, she seemed happy and said the couple was excited about watching movies for the day.