An RCMP forensic investigator told B.C. Supreme Court on Wednesday, Dec. 4 in Prince George that he found a crime scene in a hotel room both normal and abnormal.
Kerridge Andrew Lowley, 49, and Dakota Rayn Keewatin, 31, are on trial before Justice John Gibb-Carsley, charged with aggravated assault and break and enter.
A man required emergency surgery for multiple deep lacerations, nerve, muscle, tendon and bone injuries after an Aug. 11, 2022 machete attack at the Econo Lodge City Centre Inn.
Cpl. Mike Mikkelsen testified that he examined the machete, hotel room 255, a house in the 300-block of Killoren Crescent and a vehicle that had been spotted on the hotel surveillance camera before the incident.
He visited the hotel room for the first time at 7:45 p.m. on Aug. 12, 2022 and spent time at the scene over two days.
“For example, during my examination, I found what I believed to be small pieces of human skin,” Mikkelsen testified. “I also found footwear impressions in blood on the floor.”
He said room 255 was a standard hotel room with two queen-sized beds, a single bathroom, a small desk and a television set.
“I also noticed that there was a large amount of blood staining on the beds, more so on one bed than the other, and on the floor,” he said.
Mikkelsen observed a bear spray odour and noticed a yellow streak on the wall between a light switch and the door.
“I can't say definitively what that stain is,” Mikkelsen said. “I don't believe it's blood. I believe it may possibly be bear spray.”
Then something on the ceiling caught his eye.
“It was odd to see one of the wash cloths attached to the smoke detector in such a fashion,” Mikkelsen said. “It’s being used, I believe, to defeat the smoke detector, if someone was smoking.”
He testified in detail about his Aug. 14, 2022 examination of the exterior and interior of a black 2017 Dodge Ram 1500.
Inside the truck’s centre console, he found financial and insurance documents bearing the name of Lowley. He also found a knife and gloves, among other items.
Mikkelsen described how he spent much of his time applying a chemical called Luminol on the truck’s black interior.
“This test requires me to mix a solution, apply the solution to the truck, and turn off the lights and see if there is a reaction for the presence of blood,” Mikkelsen explained. “If there is a blue reaction for this test, that indicates a positive result.”
He showed photographs of positive results on the driver’s side door and handle, centre console, seat, seat controls and floor mat.
Const. Amritpal Dhadwal returned to the witness stand and testified that he, along with another officer, went to a Killoren Crescent house on Aug. 11, 2022 after leaving the Econo Lodge crime scene. Dhadwal said he walked through the residence and determined nobody else was inside.
At 6:27 p.m., he photographed Keewatin, who had minor injuries, including a cut, skin missing from near his elbow and bruising. Keewatin was holding a piece of tissue or cloth to stop one of his fingers from bleeding. Dhadwal also noticed the man smelled of bear spray and was squinting, because his eyes were red and watering.
“Did you make any recommendations to any other officers about him being taken to the hospital or seen by a doctor?” asked Jason LeBlond, Keewatin’s lawyer.
“Not that I can recall,” Dhadwal replied.
Earlier, LeBlond told Gibb-Carsley that no decision had been made about whether he would call any defence evidence. Gibb-Carsley asked for trial schedulers to hold Jan. 28, 30 and 31 of 2025 to conclude the case.
The trial continues Thursday, Dec. 5.
