WARNING: This story includes details from a murder trial and may be triggering for some readers.
The murder trial for a Kelowna woman continued this week, but little progress was made.
Transgender woman Gabriella Sears, who was arrested under the name Derek Sears, is standing trial for second-degree murder and the interference with human remains for the 2021 death of Darren Middleton.
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.
Crown counsel David Grabavac called Kelowna RCMP Cpl. Mitchell to testify before Justice Miriam Gropper in Kelowna Supreme Court on Mar. 9.
Mitchell processed evidence seized following Sears arrest and photographed the items, including the clothing Sears was wearing at the time of her arrest.
After one full day in court, the trial proceedings were adjourned each morning for three consecutive days due to the accused falling ill.
Sears felt well enough to continue with the trial on Mar. 13 and Cpl. Mitchell was called back to the witness stand.
Crown counsel had Mitchell go through various evidence bags for the court, including a pair of denim shorts and a black lingerie corset.
One item of focus was a black Lululemon bag, which contained cigarette butts, garbage, and a prescription receipt Mitchell stated had the same medication name, patient name, date, and number of capsules as a prescription bottle photographed at the scene of the crime.
Sears’ defence lawyers argued there was no evidence to suggest the bag belonged to Sears or was seized at the time of her arrest, also noting the Crown does not plan on calling for testimony from the officer who seized Sears’ belongings.
Justice Gropper concluded that the circumstantial evidence presented by Crown of a similar bag being seen in surveillance video from the Kelowna RCMP detachment being carried by an officer involved in the strip search of Sears’ and collecting belongings from the accused for evidence was not sufficient. The bag was not formally entered into evidence.
The trial is expected to reconvene in June.
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.