Reno Lee appeared 'stressed' on the night police believe he was killed, witness testifies

A man whose body was later found dismembered looked "stressed" as he headed to the house's basement on the night police believe he was killed, a witness testified in court Monday morning.

The woman took the stand in the first-degree murder trial of three men accused in the death of Reno Lee. Lee was Regina's third homicide of 2015.

Andrew Bellegarde, Bronson Gordon and Daniel Theodore have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and committing an indignity to a body. 

Lee's remains were found in April 2015 on the Starblanket First Nation, with his limbs, torso and head discovered wrapped in plastic and buried in a shallow grave. 

The witness's identity is protected by a publication ban.

At the time of the alleged murder, she was living in a house on Garnet Street. 

On April 16, 2015 — the date police believe Lee was killed — she testified she was getting ready for bed when she learned that people were coming over. 

She said she doesn't remember everyone who was in the group that walked through the house, and directly into the basement, but remembers seeing Lee and one of his accused killers, Theodore.

The witness said Lee looked "stressed."

"His eyes were really wide."

The witness testified she did not know what was happening, nor of any plan to bring harm to Lee.

She told court she stayed upstairs while others were downstairs. 

At one point she said Theodore, who she says seemed like the leader, emerged from the basement asking for zip ties and duct tape.

She answered there was none and then Theodore left the house, she told court. 

The woman said she never went downstairs, but a man whose identity is also under a publication did, and told her what he saw. She testified being told there was an individual with their arms and legs tied up. 

After hearing that, she said she started panicking. She told court she does not remember why, but that she called another accused, Gordon, who lived in an apartment near 13th Avenue. 

The woman used to sell drugs for Gordon off and on.

She said Gordon told her to be calm. The woman eventually left the house, and returned the next morning. 

When she walked into the house, she recalled a strong small of bleach and mud everywhere. She also learned there was blood in the basement, where a shotgun was found. 

After discovering the scene, she said she called Gordon who gave her $100 to buy cleaning supplies. 

"It felt like our lives ended that day," the witness said of the day they began to clean up the house.