Crown ends case against alleged police murderer as accused prepares to testify

WARNING: This story contains disturbing video and graphic descriptions of violence, as well as coarse language.

Crown prosecutors have closed their case in the murder trial of Alain Bellefeuille, and now the accused is expected to take the stand in his own defence this week to tell his side of the story.

Bellefeuille pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder at the outset of his trial in L'Orignal, Ont., east of Ottawa, in March.

It's an admitted fact in this case that Bellefeuille killed Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Sgt. Eric Mueller, critically wounded Const. Marc Lauzon and wounded Const. François Gamache-Asselin when he shot them before dawn on May 11, 2023.

Part of what the jury will have to decide, based on Bellefeuille's upcoming testimony and all the other evidence heard at trial, is what Bellefeuille was thinking and what his intentions were when he repeatedly opened fire.

CBC has now obtained more video exhibits played in court during the prosecution's case, which closed Tuesday. They show what happened after Mueller and Lauzon were shot, from the perspective of Gamache-Asselin, who was behind them.

They also capture part of Bellefeuille's arrest.

Warning: This video depicts a violent event. It includes coarse language, gunfire, disturbing images and graphic sound.

Video from Bellefeuille trial shows officer being shot at, Bellefeuille's arrest

2 days ago

Duration 3:51

Video exhibits played in court during the prosecution's case show what happened after two officers were shot, from the perspective of the third officer who was behind them. They also capture part of Alain Bellefeuille's dramatic arrest, which is an important moment for the defence.

• More video footage from earlier in the trial can be found here.

The Crown's final four witnesses were the surgeon who helped treat Lauzon that night and since, an officer who obtained surveillance video of Bellefeuille cashing a cheque after work the afternoon before the shooting, a forensic identification supervisor who examined all the bullet strikes inside and outside Bellefeuille's house, and a firearms expert.

Wounds could have been fatal

Last week, Dr. Jacinthe Lampron — a surgeon and medical trauma director of The Ottawa Hospital — testified that she was one of a number of physicians who treated Lauzon when he arrived at the Civic campus trauma unit after the shooting.

He'd been shot four times — in his chest, left forearm, groin and abdomen — and it could have been fatal without immediate treatment, she said. His left forearm in particular was bleeding profusely because his radial artery had been transected, Lampron told court.

A person Lauzon's size has nearly five litres of blood circulating through their body at any time, she said. That morning, Lauzon was administered about four to 4.5 litres of blood products to replace what he'd lost.

Some bullet fragments remain in his body, and more surgeries for his reconstructed left arm are planned, she said.

Also last week, OPP Det. Tracy Allan testified that she obtained surveillance video of Bellefeuille cashing a cheque at a Money Mart the day before the shooting, after he finished work at a residential construction site.

He was wearing the same clothes and baseball cap that he was arrested in after the shooting.

Bellefeuille was intoxicated

On Monday, the trial heard an admission that a urine sample was taken from Bellefeuille after his arrest and was tested for toxicology. Four hours after the shooting, the concentration of alcohol in his urine was over the legal limit.

Also Monday, OPP forensic identification supervisor William "Tony" Martin took the jury through PowerPoint presentations documenting all the bullet strikes inside and outside Bellefeuille's house.

Coloured aluminum rods were placed in the holes to approximate the trajectory of the bullets that had passed through them, and a 3D model was created to visualize it, he testified.

Justice Robert Pelletier instructed the jury that Martin had not been qualified as an expert witness, and that the rods he placed in bullet holes can't be taken as evidence of trajectory. The presentation was allowed only as a visual aid to enhance the scene.

Bullet strikes were noted in Lauzon and Mueller's cruisers outside, as well as in the mud room, the kitchen, the living room and the bedroom.

Illegal magazines could hold 22 rounds instead of 5

Firearms expert Toni Brinck of the Centre for Forensic Sciences testified Tuesday that Bellefeuille's long gun, a common and non-restricted SKS semi-automatic rifle, was outfitted with a scope and an adjustable stock, among other enhancements.

Legal magazines can only contain five rounds, but video footage showed Bellefeuille firing nine shots in rapid succession.

Brinck testified that some of the magazines found in the house were illegal because they had been modified to hold 22 rounds instead of five. 

The trigger had to be pulled for each shot, she told court.

In cross examination by defence lawyer Leo Russomanno, she said she didn't know if the scope had working batteries when she analyzed the gun, because she didn't test it.