Multiple shots in Superstore killings, court told

Both Colin Reitberger and Anees Amr were shot multiple times when they were ambushed in a southeast Calgary parking lot, court heard Thursday.

Pathologist Dr. Allison Edgecombe said she listed the cause of death of both men as “multiple gunshot wounds.”

Edgecombe detailed each of the six bullet wounds suffered by Reitberger and four by Amr, when they were attacked May 21, 2017, outside the Real Canadian Superstore on 130th Avenue S.E.

She told Crown prosecutor Katherine Love that while two bullets struck Reitberger’s head, the most life-threatening wounds were to his torso.

Calgarian Christian Ouellette, who the Crown alleges fired the deadly shots in an act of revenge against Reitberger, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

His alleged accomplice, Blais Delaire, faces two charges of manslaughter with a firearm for allegedly aiding and abetting the killer, including by helping Ouellette obtain the firearm used in the homicides.

Edgecombe, testifying via video link from Nova Scotia, where she now works, said she conducted autopsies on both victims.

The pathologist said she found no evidence of soot, stippling or muzzle imprint, which would indicate the bullets were shot from short or contact range.

But Edgecombe said that only meant the shots were likely fired from a distance of more than 60 centimetres.

One bullet struck Reitberger on the right side of his scalp and exited his neck but did not enter his cranial cavity, a second hit the left side of his scalp, while two others entered his chest and abdomen.

A fifth grazed his chest, while a sixth struck his shoulder.

The most significant wounds to Amr were to his left upper arm, which then crossed his chest and to his back.