WARNING: This story includes details from a murder trial and may be triggering for some readers.
A Kelowna RCMP officer and print analyst told Justice Gropper that a palm print found at a 2021 murder scene matched the accused.
Cpl. Craig Van Every was on the witness stand in Kelowna Supreme Court on Dec. 18 to testify on his involvement in the homicide investigation of Darren Middleton.
Transgender woman Gabriella Sears is facing second-degree murder charges in relation to Middleton’s death, as well as interfering with human remains.
The body of Middleton was found in the bathroom of Sears’ residence at 1210 Sycamore Road in the early hours of June 17, 2021. The victim was found with multiple injuries to his body, including blunt force trauma to the head, a severed penis, and missing testicles.
While investigating the scene, police located a palm print on top of a desk inside the home.
The print Van Every described as being left from a reddish brown substance, he stated, was consistent with blood. The print was lifted from the desk, and Van Every explained to the court the holistic approach used to determine if the print found at the scene was in agreement with the palm prints collected from Sears at the time of her arrest.
Once his analysis was complete, Van Every testified that it is standard practice to send the prints for verification. The officer told the court that both he and the verification came back with the same conclusion, the palm print found on the scene was in agreement with the print of Sears’ right palm.
Van Every will return to the witness stand on Dec. 19 for the final trial date in 2025.
Sears had confessed to police that she had killed Middleton following her arrest, but after a voir dire, the judge ruled the confession may not be used as evidence in the trial on the grounds Sears’ rights were violated by police.
The trial has faced various delays with Sears’ unexpectedly firing her defence lawyers mid-trial in December 2023. Then, in June 2024, her new counsel filed an application to withdraw from the case, making them the third set of lawyers to represent Sears in the trial.
In response to the unusual decision, Justice Carol Ross ordered that Sears undergo a month-long psychiatric assessment. It was later determined that Sears was fit to stand trial.
Sears’ trial will reconvene sometime in the new year as it is scheduled to take a total of 44 days in court.