Crown closes its murder case against Devin Morningstar
Court hears from friend who picked up Morningstar and 2 co-accused on day Moncton teen Baylee Wylie was killed
The Crown closed its case in the first-degree murder trial against Devin Morningstar on Wednesday morning, after calling its final two witnesses.
Morningstar, 19, is accused of killing 18-year-old Baylee Wylie in Moncton in the early morning hours of Dec. 17, 2015, then setting fire to the tri-plex where the murder happened.
The first witness called on Wednesday was Claude Leblanc. He said he's a friend of Morningstar's; that they are "closer than brothers."
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During a sworn recorded statement given by Morningstar days after his arrest last December, Morningstar said he called Leblanc around 4 a.m. to pick him up from the tri-plex where the murder happened, and drive him home.
In court on Wednesday, Leblanc corroborated Morningstar's statement, testifying he left his home in his Hyundai Elantra alone after receiving the early morning phone call.
Leblanc said Morningstar didn't give him a unit number, telling him only to pick him up at Sumac Street. Leblanc said he waited at the meeting point for about 10 minutes before texting Morningstar to say that if the ride wasn't needed, he would be happy to go back home to bed.
Leblanc said that's when he saw Morningstar with "a guy and a girl," later identified as Morningstar's co-accused, Tyler Noel and Marissa Shephard.
Noel, 19, and Shephard, 20, are both also charged with first-degree murder and arson.
Leblanc said he wasn't sure which unit they had come from, but they had boxes and bags with them.
He said the man, Noel, smelled strongly of Axe body spray, "like he was wearing the whole bottle." Leblanc said he commented, "Did you put enough on?"
'He's a good guy'
Leblanc noted that Morningstar seemed upset but wouldn't talk about what was bothering him. Leblanc said he chalked it up to Morningstar being sad about breaking up with his on again, off again girlfriend.
After Leblanc dropped the group off at Morningstar's apartment, he said he went home to get some sleep before starting his shift at Tim Hortons.
During the police investigation into Wylie's murder, Leblanc's car was seized. The Crown said a can of Axe body spray was found in the car. Leblanc testified it was left behind after Morningstar, Noel and Shephard got out of the car.
Earlier in the trial, the court heard Morningstar tell police in his videotaped statement that Axe body spray may have been used as a fire accelerant.
"He's a good guy," said Leblanc of accused murderer Morningstar. Defence lawyer Robert Rideout asked if Morningstar is known to be violent, to which Leblanc replied, "No, he was the quiet kid down the street."
Noel returned gun, witness says
Damien Pelletier, the final witness in the Crown's case testified that he had sold a gun to Tyler Noel for cash and cocaine, but that Noel hadn't fully paid for the weapon yet.
Pelletier said Noel texted him on the Dec. 17, 2015, saying he was in trouble, and wanted to bring the gun back. He said he told Noel come to his house alone.
They were in trouble, but I didn't ask questions. I didn't want to know.- Damien Pelletier, Crown witness
Instead, Pelletier said Noel "showed up with sketchy looking people." He testified that the three people now accused of murder and arson looked like they had been "up for a month."
He said Morningstar seemed terrified and "looked like he was on drugs, clearly." He described Noel and Shephard as "antsy."
Pelletier took the gun, which he said was a Winchester 30-30, and tried to get the group out of his apartment as soon as possible.
"They were in trouble, but I didn't ask questions. I didn't want to know."
Baylee Wylie was was found dead in a burned-out unit of a triplex on Sumac Street. Police said he was stabbed more than 200 times.
Noel's trial begins in October 2017 while Shephard will be in court in May for a preliminary hearing.
The Morningstar trial is expected to last five weeks.
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