Man accused in killing confessed, friend says

A friend of a Windsor man on trial for the stabbing and beating death of his girlfriend described in court Friday the repeated confessions he heard—but thought were a joke— shortly after the woman was killed. John Wayne Pierre, 49, is on trial in Superior Court facing a charge of second-degree murder in the Nov. 1, 2016 death of Lesley Watterworth. She was killed in a midafternoon attack in the upper unit of 925 Curry Ave.

Willie Borders testified how Pierre showed up at his door a few streets away just before 4 p.m. on the day of the incident, wearing a suit and dress shoes. He described Pierre as being “nervous” and acting strangely before telling him: “I killed Lesley.” “But I didn’t believe him,” Borders, 47, told the jury. “We always joked around, so I often never took him serious.”

Borders said Pierre then asked for a piece of paper and pen on which he wrote, “I killed Windsor’s worst in 15 years.”

The friend told the court he remained unfazed and refused to believe Pierre, whom he had then known for about two years. “He kept saying, ‘I killed her,’ ” testified Borders, who occasionally socialized with the couple. “I heard them argue, but never saw anything physical, so I thought it was a joke.”

Borders told the jury Pierre put the piece of paper in his mouth, chewed it and then put it in an ashtray ” where it remained. The note was presented in court as evidence on Friday. After about 20 minutes — shortly after 4 p.m. — Pierre told his friend he was going to the Keg restaurant, asked to borrow money and Borders gave him $40. Although he entered carrying an open can of beer, Pierre “was sober” during the visit, Borders told the court.

He said Pierre showed up again around 7 p.m., drinking a beer with two more in each pocket of his suit jacket.

“You could tell (he) had been drinking,” said Borders, who added he had company at the time and sent Pierre away.

Before leaving, Pierre handed him a baseball from his pocket — also presented in court — that he signed “Johnny Pierre, 2016, Happy Halloween.” Borders said Pierre encouraged him to call Crime Stoppers since he was going to “be all over the news tomorrow.” “I just thought he was joking,” Borders concluded. “We joked a lot.”

Employees from the Beer Store and Keg restaurant also testified Friday about their contact with Pierre after he had first left Borders’ home.

Security camera footage played for the jury showed Pierre, wearing a suit and baseball cap, entering the Beer Store on College Avenue shortly after 4:50 p.m., when he purchased a single can of beer. “He seemed sober,” testified store employee Laura Bury, who said she recognized the man as a regular customer for two and half years. But in the video, Pierre appeared to stagger briefly, grabbing the counter to secure himself while Bury was not looking. Employees receive training not to serve intoxicated customers, so Bury conceded in court under cross-examination by defence lawyer Ken Marley that she would have been “concerned” about Pierre’s sobriety had she seen the stumble. Fellow Beer Store employee Jason Vetor, also working and in charge that day, testified had he witnessed Pierre stumble “he would not have been sold beer at all.” Security video from the Keg restaurant was also played in court. Pierre showed up there, still in his suit and ball cap, just before 6 p.m. and immediately raised concerns by attempting to order two beers at the host stand near the entrance, dining room manager Jessica Chan testified.

“In my mind, he really needed a drink,” she told the jury. “He seemed on edge.”

The trial continues on Monday.