Paxton's lawyer looks to discredit witness
Jim Lutz said Abraham Chutta's testimony in court about assaults he and another man allegedly suffered at the hands of Paxton differed from what he told police and what he said at the preliminary hearing.
Chutta testified earlier this week that there was a bamboo stick in the house, which was used as a weapon, but had never mentioned it before.
Lutz also referenced a 911 call Chutta made saying Paxton had a gun, but police were later told no gun was present.
Also, Lutz claimed Chutta's description of a knife in the house made it seem bigger than what police records showed.
"You’re lying to me," Lutz said to Chutta, as the witness stared blankly. The lawyer then moved on to the next question.
Paxton, 31, is on trial for sexually assaulting and physically abusing his former business partner and roommate.
He is also facing charges of assault with a weapon and uttering threats against Chutta, who lived with Paxton and his roommate for three months in Calgary and helped them start a moving company in 2008.
In the witness box Wednesday, Chutta became emotional as he described the beatings he and the other man allegedly received from Paxton.
Chutta said he and the other man had swollen faces, cuts all over their bodies and weight loss.
But during cross-examination, which started Wednesday and continued Thursday, defence lawyers presented photos of Chutta and the other alleged victim that they say were from July 2009 — after a lot of the alleged abuse was supposed to have happened — where both are smiling and appear to have no injuries on their faces.
Chutta said the photo must have been taken earlier on in their relationship or at a time when Paxton was away.
The assaults against the unnamed roommate — which the man's family said amounted to torture — are alleged to have occurred between December 2008 and April 2010 in Calgary and Regina, until the man was dropped off at a Regina hospital.
At that point he weighed only 87 pounds and part of his lips and tongue had been cut off.
The Crown plans to call 50 witnesses in the trial, which is set to last five weeks.
A publication ban prohibits naming the alleged sexual assault victim, who is expected to testify in mid-October, and other witnesses that could lead to identifying him.