Second witness takes stand in B.C. manslaughter trial as husband's lawyers silent
Warning: Some of these details are disturbing
The lawyers for a Langley man accused of killing and dismembering his wife’s remains had no questions as the prosecution’s first witness wrapped up his expert testimony, and have so far raised no objections as another witness takes the stand.
The lawyers for Obnes Regis remained silent on the second day of his trial Tuesday, where he faces one charge of manslaughter and another of indignity to human remains in the killing of his wife, Naomi Onotera.
Regis has pleaded not guilty, but the first day of the trial saw a Crown prosecutor present the judge with a lengthy agreed statement of facts, including Regis taking the couple’s toddler daughter to the Fraser River after midnight to throw handfuls of his wife’s cut up bones into the water.
BCIT instructor Steen Hertsen, a DNA and forensics expert, finished his highly technical testimony with his methodology for testing samples from knives, a manual saw and a radial saw seized from the couple’s home in 2021.
He told Madame Justice Martha Devlin, who is hearing the case alone without a jury, that in his expert opinion and as a result of his lab’s analysis, he believes all the human tissue samples came from the same person.
The second and final witness for the prosecution was RCMP Sgt. Heather Burwell, a forensic identification expert based in Langley, who went into great detail about her search of the couple’s Langley house, both visually and with various investigative strategies to detect human blood and other remains, documenting her search and IHIT’s seizure of various suspicious items. She tested various stains in the home, but didn’t find any human blood inside.
Burwell personally dismantled a radial saw that had multiple types of tissue that tested positive as containing human blood. She also found dark hairs, a small piece of bone and a white thread-like material inside the machine.
She will continue her testimony on Thursday. It’s still not clear if Regis himself, who has a French interpreter translating the proceedings for him, will take the stand in his own defense.
There are 40 exhibits in the trial, including surveillance video of Regis and his child the night his wife was reported missing by her mother, an interrogation with RCMP, and another video where undercover officers walk with Regis to the section of the Fraser River where he showed them where he pulled out grocery bags full of bones cut into “finger-sized pieces” and threw them in the water.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Sick to my stomach': People grieve Jasper National Park by sharing favourite photos
As an out-of-control wildfire roared through Alberta’s famed Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday, many are fearing the worst as officials warned of 'significant loss' within the area.
LIVE UPDATES 'Hopefully it's better than what we're thinking': Jasper wildfire damage details anxiously awaited
Officials are waiting to learn Thursday morning the extent of wildfire damage in the Jasper townsite of Jasper National Park, which flames began to eat away at the night before.
Canadian women's soccer team staffer given suspended prison sentence over drone incident, prosecutor says
A Canada women's soccer team staffer has been given an eight-month suspended prison sentence after flying a drone to film the closed-door training session of the New Zealand team on Monday, the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
Sale of envoy's NYC condo 'expected to exceed' $9M: government
The current official residence for Canada's representative in New York City is 'being readied for sale,' according to a spokesperson from Global Affairs Canada.
Jasper wildfire burns buildings, while poor air quality forces some fire crews out
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on social media that Ottawa has approved Alberta's request for federal assistance after a fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday.
'I'm so broke': Two Toronto women speak out after losing $76,000 in romance scam
Two women from the Toronto area are speaking out after losing thousands of dollars to a romance scam, including a single mother who lost $62,000.
Barrie-Innisfil MPP 'blacked-out' and crashed car into window of child care centre
Staff at a Barrie child care centre say they are frustrated by what they call a local MPP's inadequate response after a car crashed through a window in one of the toddler rooms.
Loblaw to settle class action over bread price-fixing for $500 million
Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its parent company George Weston Ltd. say they have agreed to pay $500 million to settle a pair of class-action lawsuits regarding their involvement in an alleged bread price-fixing scheme.
EXCLUSIVE One address, 76 foreign currency dealers: Inside Canada's money service business 'clusters'
An IJF and CTV News investigation has found dozens of cases across Canada where multiple money services businesses (MSBs) are incorporated at the same address, sometimes without the knowledge or consent of the location's actual occupant. One money laundering expert calls it an 'abuse of the system.'