Trial begins for men accused of manslaughter in death of Jeanenne Fontaine

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Two men accused of manslaughter in a high-profile case should have known the robbery they planned in response to an unresolved drug debt would have had harmful consequences, Crown prosecutors told a jury Monday.

The jury heard details for the first time about the death of 29-year-old Jeanenne Fontaine, whom prosecutors allege was caught in the middle of a confrontation over her boyfriend’s methamphetamine dealing. She died March 14, 2017, after an alleged shooting and arson at her Winnipeg residence.

“After Jeanenne Fontaine was shot, chaos ensued in the tiny Aberdeen (Avenue) home,” Crown attorney Geoffrey Bayly said in his opening statement to jurors.

Christopher Matthew Brass and Jason Michael Meilleur have pleaded not guilty to manslaughter.

The death of Fontaine’s 15-year-old cousin, Tina Fontaine, was at the centre of calls for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women after Tina’s body was found in the Red River in August 2014. A man accused of killing Tina was acquitted in her death last year.

On Monday, at the beginning of a scheduled three-week trial, Crown prosecutors outlined the evidence they expect will implicate both men in the death of Jeanenne Fontaine.

Bayly told the jury the prosecution expects to prove both Brass and Meilleur knew or ought to have known their attempt to commit robbery at the home would cause bodily harm.

He told the jury 457 Aberdeen Ave. was a drug traphouse being run by Fontaine’s boyfriend (who is expected to testify later in the trial). Meilleur’s girlfriend had allegedly purchased bad methamphetamine, and the two accused showed up there on the morning of March 14 to settle the debt.

They were looking for Fontaine’s boyfriend, Bayly said, but he wasn’t there. Instead, Fontaine got caught in the confrontation and was shot in the back of the head. The home was later set ablaze, the prosecution alleges.

Bayly said the Crown expects to prove its case through testimony from Fontaine’s brother, Vince, who was present the morning she died, as well as evidence from police, firefighters, medical personnel and testimonies from the women who were dating the two men accused. The prosecution will also play a video statement Meilleur gave to police shortly after his arrest May 11, 2017.

His statement will prove he was present at the home and he went there to collect a debt on behalf of his girlfriend, Bayly said.

“You will quickly come to realize as you are watching and listening to Mr. Meilleur’s police statement, the story being told by him was very much a moving target, constantly changing and evolving as he told it over and over again,” Bayly said.

Jurors heard Monday from Winnipeg firefighter Kevin Luptak, who was one of the first responders arriving on scene to find the home on fire around 9:40 a.m., March 14, 2017.

He helped carry Fontaine from the residence, noting she was unresponsive and had burns on her stomach and forearm. He saw no blood, and didn’t take any vital signs. His focus, he said, was getting her as quickly as possible from the burning home to the waiting ambulance.

Winnipeg Police Service identification officer Const. Susan Roy-Haegeman presented photos of the crime scene, and fire investigator Sandra Peterson explained the damage and told the jury four separate fires were deliberately set within the home using cloth, paper, and pieces of wood as kindling.

Bayly told jurors a man named Malcolm Mitchell was also present at the time of Fontaine’s death, but he asked them not to concern themselves with him. The law prohibits news coverage of any details the jury doesn’t hear during a trial.

In his opening statement, Bayly asked jurors to consider each piece of evidence carefully.

“We’ve all seen Hollywood’s interpretation of how courtroom evidence is supposed to be presented,” Bayly said, noting television dramas take liberties that won’t happen in this case.

“The difference between real trials and TV trials is that real trials are not completed in under an hour. Some witnesses may be quite willing to recount what they heard, what they saw, but some may be more reluctant, especially when they have to talk about things they’re not proud of or if they’re frightened.”

The trial continues before Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Gerald Chartier.

Defence lawyers Theodore Mariash and Trang Ly are representing Meilleur, and defence lawyers Taralee Walker and Mitch Mraovic are representing Brass.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @thatkatiemay