Golf course owner recalls shock at finding teen's body

The man who found the body of a slain 13-year-old girltold an Edmonton court Tuesday that he was so shaken up thathe couldn't recall his golf course's address when he was on the phone with police.

Michael Briscoe, 36, and Joseph Laboucan, 21, are charged withthe kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault and first-degree murder of Nina Courtepatte.

Mike Kachuk, who owns the Edmonton Springs Golf Course, testified that he was checking the fairways when he found the girl in April 2005.

Hetold court he first spotted what he thought was a bundled up tarp on the ground, but said he realized it was a body when hegot closer.

Kachuk recalledrushing back to the clubhouse to call police, butbeing so disturbed he couldn't remember the address of the golf course and had to pass the phone to his daughter.

Disturbing video played in court Monday

The trial openedMonday withCourtepatte's family members sobbing while a police videotape was played, showing the girl's bloody and bruised body.

RCMP forensics specialist Cpl. Sharron Smith testified, pointing out pliers, a cigarette butt and some loose change on the ground in the video.

An autopsy report was also entered as an exhibit in the trial Monday, describing 15 deep cuts on the girl's head and various injuries to the rest of her body.

Briscoe and Laboucan are being tried before a judge alone in Alberta's Court of Queen's Bench. The trial is expected to last a month.

Theyare among five people charged with the girl's murder, but unlike the other three, they were adults at the time of her death.

A 19-year-old man has already pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. Two young women, ages 17 and 19, are charged with kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault and first-degree murder, but haven't yet come to trial. The trio can't be named under the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.