Gruesome video shown at N.B. murder trial

FREDERICTON, New Brunswick – People attending the trial of a man accused of killing an elderly New Brunswick couple watched in horror Tuesday as a video of the murder scene showed a decapitated corpse in one room and a blood-soaked body in another.

Crown prosecutors showed the gruesome video during the second day of the trial of 24-year-old Gregory Despres.

He is charged with the first-degree murders of Fred Fulton, 74, and his wife, Verna Decarie, 70, in their home in Minto, New Brunswick, in 2005.

Although Justice Judy Clendenning warned people in the courtroom that the video would be graphic, several friends and family members of the victims were overcome by the horrific scenes and left sobbing.

One of the first images on the tape, as police enter the victims’ small home, is that of Fulton’s headless corpse stretched out on the kitchen floor, a blanket draped over his legs.

Fulton’s head was found wrapped in a pillowcase under the kitchen table.

Decarie’s body was found in the master bedroom, lying by the bed in a pool of blood.

Despres, who lived next door to the couple, watched the video intently and impassively.

On Monday, he pleaded not guilty to the killings.

Items confiscated from Despres included a homemade sword and a chain saw, but so far there has been no evidence as to the exact nature of the weapon or weapons used.

The video was shot by a Royal Canadian Mounted Police forensics expert, Cpl. Don Hulsman, an authority in footprint and fingerprint evidence.

Hulsman told Clendenning – the trial is before judge alone – that apart from the bloodstains throughout the home and other signs of violence, the home was very neat.

“My first impression when I went in the house was this home was very tidy and extremely clean,” said Hulsman, who appeared to slightly lose his composure as he described the two elderly victims.

Hulsman said it appeared a screen door had been cut and a wooden door kicked in at the rear of the home.

He said police quickly eliminated sexual assault and robbery as possible motives for the homicides.

Despres, who has dual Canadian and U.S. citizenship, was arrested in Massachusetts shortly after the bodies were discovered in late April.

He was stopped at the U.S. border crossing at Calais, Maine, but was allowed entry into the United States despite the fact he was carrying a chain saw, homemade sword, hatchet and brass knuckles.

Crown prosecutors said they will be calling border officials to testify during the trial, which is expected to last at least three weeks.