SYDNEY, N.S. — A judge has found a Nova Scotia man guilty of murdering a 19-year-old woman solely for thrills, in a case that turned partly on evidence from a dead witness.
Thomas Ted Barrett, 41, strangled Brett MacKinnon because watching her die "excited" him, said Judge Robin Gogan.
MacKinnon's decayed remains were found in 2008 near a Glace Bay hiking trail, two years after she went missing. It is the first of two murder trials for Barrett involving young female victims.
On Monday in Nova Scotia Supreme Court, Gogan said she accepted evidence from Crown witnesses who said Barrett had told them he'd killed MacKinnon with his bare hands.
The Crown case relied partly on Sheryl Ann Flynn's videotaped account of Barrett telling her in 2006 that he felt "a rush'' of adrenaline as his hands tightened on MacKinnon's throat.
Gogan said during her decision that Flynn's evidence, given before her overdose death, was weakened because she couldn't be cross examined by defence counsel.
However, she also said similar testimony from other Crown witnesses was consistent with a "bizarre pattern of disclosure" by Barrett to acquaintances and girlfriends that built a case proving his guilt.
"It belies coincidence," said Gogan.
The defence had painted a picture of Flynn and other witnesses as drug addicts with criminal records, saying their credibility was suspect.
The prosecution had countered that Flynn's memories were consistent with other witnesses who described Barrett saying he'd strangled MacKinnon or made a visible gesture indicating he'd strangled her.
In her summary of facts she accepted, Gogan outlined a frightening scene in the last minutes of the young woman's life.
"Mr. Barrett became upset ... He grabbed her and choked her by the throat. He thought he broke her neck," said the judge.
"He continued to strangle her because the act of watching her die excited him."
"He wrapped her in a carpet and in middle of the night took her to a location and disposed of her."
Barrett is also charged in the second-degree murder of Laura Jessome, 21, in 2012, whose remains were discovered May 25 in a hockey bag floating on the Mira River.
Barrett was surrounded by sheriffs when he stood for his verdict in the packed courtroom, but he showed no visible emotion.
MacKinnon's family members wept and some clapped lightly as the verdict was read, but they declined comment as they departed the courtroom.
The judge set down April 13 as the sentencing date in Sydney.
