Victim's stepdad wary of boyfriend, court told

When the late John Mcgee went on a golfing trip to Phoenix in February 2002, he asked a neighbour to make sure his stepdaughter's boyfriend didn't show up.

Evidence from neighbour Bruce Croney, who also has since died, was played for jurors Wednesday in the second-degree murder trial of Stephane Parent.

In the 2019 testimony from Parent's preliminary inquiry, Croney said Mcgee asked him to keep an eye on his southwest Calgary townhouse, where his stepdaughter, Adrienne Mccoll, was staying with him.

Croney lived in the same townhouse complex on Killarney Glen Court S.W. and had a clear view of Mcgee's home.

“Could you keep an eye on the condo and make sure that Stephane Parent's car is not there?” Croney testified he was asked by Mcgee.

The witness went on to say if he were to see Parent's vehicle there, he was to call Mcgee's former business partner, a member of the Calgary Police Service.

“Did you see Mr. Parent's vehicle?” Crown prosecutor Shane Parker asked.

“No, I never did.”

Parent, 53, is charged in connection with Mccoll's Feb. 14, 2002, slaying.

The woman disappeared that day and her body was found three days later in a rancher's field near Nanton, south of Calgary.

Parent wasn't arrested until February 2018, 16 years after Mccoll's death.

Croney said when Mcgee returned from Phoenix, the stepdad called him to say his car was missing from his garage.

“He wanted me to drive him up to the airport,” Croney testified.

“We were going to go through the terminal to find his car, because Stephane Parent ... wanted to take Adrienne to Ottawa,” the witness said.

He said they weren't able to find Mcgee's car and returned to his townhouse.

Croney said he asked Mcgee whether Mccoll's suitcase was still in the home, and he confirmed it was.

“And then I went into the master bathroom and all her cosmetics were there. And I said, `You'd better phone Mitch (his former partner with the CPS).'”

Under cross-examination by then-defence counsel Susan Karpa, Croney acknowledged he was not able to keep an eye on the home the entire time Mcgee was in Phoenix.

Croney also agreed someone could have parked away from the home and entered the front door without him noticing, or accessed the residence from the back door without his knowledge.

The jury trial, scheduled for three weeks, resumes Thursday.