VANCOUVER - The trial is underway for a Surrey, B.C. man charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting his pregnant ex-girlfriend in the stomach, killing her unborn baby.
In the prosecution's opening statement in the case against Carleton Stevens, Crown claimed multiple co-workers and witnesses will point the finger at the Stevens as the man who came to an East Vancouver print shop the morning of May 18, 2018 and shot the then-31-year-old victim once in the stomach.
The woman, who was six and a half months pregnant and whose name is protected by a publication ban, was rushed to hospital where doctors performed an emergency C-section. They found the bullet had severed the umbilical cord and the fetus had no heartbeat.
A colleague of the victim, Taj Lovett, was also shot in the arm as he tried to fight off the attacker. Crown will argue surveillance video of two men walking near the building minutes before the shooting shows Stevens and an unknown male. Prosecutors also plan to introduce text messages in court that they say show Stevens had threatened his ex-girlfriend and Lovett in the days leading up to the early morning attack at the print shop.
Stevens was arrested two days after the shooting and has pleaded not guilty. The victim who lost her unborn baby is expected to testify at trial.
