Week 1 of Whitehawk murder trial wraps with testimony on forensic DNA samples
CBC
Keesha Bitternose's father isn't certain he'll ever find justice in the court proceedings around his daughter's death — but he's hoping for closure.
The 29-year-old Regina mother's body was found at a home on Cameron Street in January 2020.
Two people have already been convicted of manslaughter in her death.
Dillon Whitehawk, the third and final person to be tried in court in connection with her death, is charged with first-degree murder and is halfway through his judge-only trial at Court of King's Bench in Regina. He's pleaded not guilty.
Arlen Bitternose, the woman's father, says it's been a difficult nearly three years in and out of courtrooms.
"We've always kept a close-knit family, but it has even brought us closer," he told CBC News outside of court on Friday.
"Maybe someday — maybe — I'll forgive them. But right now? I just can't. I feel that with what they have done and what they put my daughter through, any justice will never be good enough."
Earlier this week, the forensic pathologist who performed Bitternose's autopsy said she had too many injuries from being beaten, stabbed and possibly shot to determine her exact cause of death. She ultimately died of a collapsed lung and severe blood loss, the doctor said.
Bitternose's mother believes she was tortured.
Her family says they knew she was involved in gangs, but she was preparing to leave that lifestyle and return to university to finish her social work degree.
On Friday, the court heard from two Crown expert witnesses who took DNA samples from items collected by Regina police investigators at the crime scene.
Meagan Clarke, a reporting scientist at the RCMP forensic laboratory in Edmonton, testified about the two reports she wrote from her analysis.
The reports outlined how a handful of items — including a glove, machete, screwdriver and Bitternose's fingernail clippings — were tested for DNA.
There was no human DNA that was familiar on the screwdriver, Clarke told the court.
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
Four in five of the wildfires so far in Saskatchewan this year have been caused by humans — the vast majority of them accidentally. But experts say part of the reason they've spread so far, so fast, is another human factor: climate change driven by the burning of fossil fuels.
Just a block away from the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan there's a garden uniting green thumbs in Lloydminster.
Shelley Lindaas has long dreamed of seeing a Kermode bear cub in person.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) report outlining the events leading to the death of Erixon Kabera answered some questions for his family and friends, but many remain.
Syed Hassan says he doesn't like to complain much. But when his wife told him she got a parking ticket on Thursday night, he knew he needed to speak out.
Following the public outcry over the Jian Ghomeshi case, some legal scholars and sexual assault survivor advocates lauded changes made to the Criminal Code that would prevent defence lawyers from surprising complainants at trial with past emails or text messages with the defendant.
The Waterloo Region District School Board has been talking a lot about the word "family" this month.
At Pedro's Island Eatery in North Rustico, owner Pedro Gameiro has long been not a fan of using seed oils for frying
The parking lot of the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre in Whitehorse was full on Friday, and the building surrounded by well-dressed young people and their proud families. Despite the smoky conditions in the city, there was much to celebrate.
Toronto has moved one step closer to allowing fiveplexes and sixplexes in neighbourhoods across the city.
Warning: Some readers may find photos in this story distressing.
Fifty years ago this fall the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States met in a castle outside Paris for three days of meetings, at the conclusion of which they issued the Declaration of Rambouillet, a 15-point statement of principles and commitments.
An Iranian woman living in Newfoundland and Labrador says she's watching attacks between Israel and Iran with worry for her family back home.