Witness insisted statement not be taped, murder trial told

A statement given to police by a witness was supposed to have been a true account of what happened the day Alex Levesque died, the jury at the second-degree murder trial of Jason Richard Tessier was told.

But, the jury heard, the statement was not taped or written on paper, and is only substantiated by police officer notes.

Levesque’s beaten body was found in the second floor apartment of a Sturgeon Falls house July 29, 2002.
Tessier has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Much of the testimony Monday focussed on a Sept. 13, ’02
statement given by Richard Danis Sr. to West Nipissing Police Service Sergeant Raymond St. Pierre.

Ontario Provincial Police Constable Dan Proulx took notes in another room while listening to Danis through an audio system.

Didn't want statement videotaped
Both Proulx and St. Pierre testified Monday because testimony given by Danis at the trial last week had contradicted much of the statement he’d given police, Crown attorney Paul Larsh said.

Proulx said Danis, who was on the porch of his son Ricky’s apartment the day Levesque was allegedly beaten to death in the same apartment, had agreed to come into the West Nipissing police headquarters and provide details of what had happened July 29.

But when Danis arrived, Proulx said, he told St. Pierre he only had 45 minutes before another appointment and didn’t want the statement videotaped under oath. He also told St. Pierre he didn’t want the sergeant to take any notes either.

Proulx said he was in the room next to the interview room where the video recording equipment was kept. He said he was tempted to start videotaping Danis, “but I respected his request.”

Instead Proulx took notes capturing the essence of Danis’s statement

Nothing to do with him
Danis, Proulx testified, told St. Pierre he had been at a party at Ricky’s apartment the night of July 28 when “three individuals showed up including a big bald guy with no facial hair who and said they were looking for Levesque."

“The guy said it was between them and Alex,” Proulx quoted Danis as saying, “and had nothing to do with him,” and the three left when they were told by Danis that Levesque was not there.

The next day at Ricky’s, Danis, Proulx said, was sitting on the porch with a few other people when Levesque showed up.

“He said Alex got a phone call and said ‘I’m here.’”

A few minutes later a local bar owner identified as Sandy Bunyak arrived at Ricky’s place with the three men who had been there the night before.

Alex was called into the apartment, Proulx testified, and then Sandy.

Alex will
Danis told Proulx he then heard “loud talking and the sound of someone getting hit with fists and lots of banging around.”

This went on for six to 10 minutes.

Bunyak then emerged from the apartment, according to Danis’s statement, Proulx said, followed by the three men.

One of the men was “very big and had a goatee, and another had a cut on his hand.”

When Danis asked, “who would clean up the apartment,” Proulx testified, “the guy with the goatee said ‘Alex will.’”

Pretty dirty thing
Danis and Ricky then went into the apartment to find Levesque on the kitchen floor slumped up against the kitchen cabinet “bleeding and looking all messed up,” Proulx said.

Ricky then went to call an ambulance while Danis headed for a local bar. He then went into the bar Bunyak owned and, Proulx said, told her, “that was pretty dirty doing that to Alex at Ricky’s place, and bullshit.”

Proulx said St. Pierre then showed Danis some prepared photographs, and Danis picked out one of Tessier and said he looked familiar.

“He said this was the guy who had done the talking Sunday night.”

Danis promised to return the next day to have his statement videotaped, but never showed up.

Word for word identical
St. Pierre gave similar testimony, adding he had made notes of the conversation with Danis after the interview and said he looked at Proulx’s notes to help him refresh his memory.

"So at times both sets of notes could have been word for word identical," said defence lawyer Andrew Buttazzoni during his cross examimination.

"Yes," St. Pierre said.

Buttazzoni suggested to St. Pierre that Danis had purposely set things up so that there would be no record at all of the statement.

When questioned by Buttazzoni, St. Pierre also said he had not warned Danis of the consequences of giving a false statement, and had not read him the proper instructions before before bringing out the photographs.

The trial continues today.