Daughter of complainant testifies against Clinton McLaughlin at Saskatoon domestic violence trial
CBC
The woman who alleges that Clinton James McLaughlin stole her handguns — then violently assaulted her on a trip to retrieve them — watched in the courtroom Tuesday as her daughter testified about seeing McLaughlin take the boxes that the guns were in.
The 15-year-old girl testified at Saskatoon provincial court, where McLaughlin is on trial, accused of assaulting, confining and choking her mom in 2020.
The mother testified Monday that McLaughlin stole her two handguns while she was away from her Saskatoon home on Nov.10, 2020. She said that about one month later, she believed McLaughlin was going to give them back, so she went on a drive with him out toward his dad's farm east of Saskatoon.
The mother said McLaughlin became aggressive during the drive, accusing her of cheating. She said he stopped the vehicle in two remote locations and choked her more than once, using one hand to hold her jacket and the other to press a fist into her throat.
The defence says these allegations are fabricated.
The complainant's daughter told the court Tuesday that she was home with her younger sister on Nov. 10, 2020, when McLaughlin showed up unexpectedly, asking where her mom was.
The daughter said she told McLaughlin that she didn't know. Court heard that she repeatedly texted and called her mom because she was scared.
According to the testimony, her mom told her to go into her bedroom in the basement of the townhouse, so the daughter went down to her room and sat on her bed.
She said McLaughlin came into the basement and she could see him in her mom's room where the handguns were stored in boxes in the closet.
"I could see him packing boxes into a grocery bag," she said. "The gun boxes."
She said he also put some clothes in the bag.
The daughter said he then went upstairs and she heard the door open. She said she also went upstairs and saw that their two dogs had gotten out of the home, so she went to retrieve them.
The daughter said that she saw McLaughlin putting the grocery bag into his vehicle as she returned with the dogs.
Defence lawyer Nicholas Stooshinoff questioned what the 15-year-old actually saw that day. The handguns have never been found by police.
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