WARNING: This story includes details from a murder trial and may be triggering for some readers.
Staff Sergeant Timothy Russell said in the more than 60 homicides he’s investigated, the 2021 murder of Darren Middleton is one of the worst scenes he has ever attended.
The RCMP officer was on the witness stand in Kelowna Supreme Court again on Dec. 16, testifying in the second-degree murder trial of Gabriella Sears.
Middleton’s body was discovered in a bathroom at Sears’ residence at 1210 Sycamore Road in the early hours of June 17, 2021.
During Crown prosecutor David Grabavac’s examination of the officer on the witness stand, Russell told the court he had spoken with the property owner during the crime scene investigation and learned she was in the process of evicting Sears.
Defense counsel Vanessa de Jong began cross-examination ahead of the lunch break, having Russell explain some of his observations of the inside of 1210 Sycamore Road.
“The residence was a shelter, and it had power and water,” Russell told Judge Gropper.
Russell confirmed the house had no semblance of order, with random items and garbage strewn about, making it difficult to determine what items were of relevance to the investigation.
The scene was described as “eerie,” and the officer noted several rats were seen inside the home and the dry carcas of a bird was found in a tote in the living room.
Several walls in the house had been painted on, including a painting depicting a rat and “numerous triangular shapes” on the living room ceiling. Words were scrawled on the various walls around the house that Russell stated seemed “unusual” and “out of context”.
The court also heard that mutliple windows in the house had been broken, the kitchen floor was covered in grime, and in the bathroom tub was an overflowing garbage bin.
Following Sears’ arrest, she confessed to police that she had killed Middleton. After a voir dire, however, the judge ruled the confessions may not be used as evidence in the trial on the grounds that 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.
The trial continues through the week.