Ex-girlfriend, lover of homicide victim testify at murder trial of Eric Wildman
Wildman has pleaded not guilty to 1st-degree murder in death of Clifford Joseph
In the last few hours before Clifford Joseph went missing, both his ex-girlfriend and a woman he was having an affair with say they were in contact with him when the messages abruptly stopped.
Eric Wildman, 36, has pleaded no guilty to the charge of first-degree murder in the death of Joseph, who was reported missing from his home in Stead, Man., a rural area northeast of Winnipeg, in June 2021. His body was found in July 2021.
Crown attorneys allege Wildman caught Joseph trying to steal a winch from a trailer parked on his property and hit him with a car before shooting him three times, including once in the back of the head.
On Wednesday afternoon, Jacqueline Frederick testified she last saw Joseph in October 2020. She said she had known Joseph for most of her life and that his mom is her godmother.
She testified that while the two had dated and lived together in 2019, she hadn't seen him for about six months.
Frederick spoke of Joseph's drug use, and said despite their breakup they still spoke every month.
Early morning messages
She said the two exchanged messages online and that Joseph had propositioned her for sex in the early morning hours of June 7, 2021, but said his last message came through just after 1 a.m.
During that same period, Joseph was also allegedly texting Amanda Thomas, a woman he was cheating on his girlfriend with.
Thomas, who was living with Joseph's sister in Hillside Beach at the time, said she had know the victim for more than 20 years.
She said the two were friends and had dated on and off over the years, but had recently started sleeping together again when his girlfriend was in rehab for drugs and alcohol.
Cristin Wise, Joseph's girlfriend, had testified Tuesday that she had kicked Joseph out for a period of time after finding out he was cheating on her.
Defence attorney Martin Glazer asked Thomas about Wise in court Wednesday.
"Isn't it true that she confronted you about sleeping with her boyfriend?" Glazer said.
Thomas admitted Wise had, but said that while she appeared angry and upset, Wise was still nice to her.
Thomas said on the morning Joseph disappeared, she believed he was on his way to her house to see her.
"He said he had one thing to do in the bush," she told the court.
As she read through some of the last messages the two sent, Thomas started to cry. She said he never responded to messages she sent later on and he never showed up at her house.
Wise called her the next day to tell her Joseph was missing.
Last time Wise saw Joseph
On Tuesday, Wise testified the last time she saw her boyfriend was when she went to bed around 1:30 a.m.
She said she woke up around 3:30 a.m., and saw their Ford Ranger pickup truck backing out of their driveway on a security camera monitor. She said earlier in the day he told her he planned to steal a winch from his neighbour's property.
During cross examination, Glazer questioned Wise about any debts Joseph may have had, their relationship troubles and his cheating.
Glazer also scrutinized Wise for lies which she admitted she told police.
Wise told the court that in her initial statements to police, she did not tell them Joseph used drugs and planned to steal from Wildman because she was worried officers wouldn't take her concerns seriously.
Court was told Joseph held no full-time job but instead made money cutting and selling wood and selling fish he would catch.
While Wise told the court that Joseph had a large outstanding hydro bill from a different home he used to live in, she said she wasn't aware of any drug debts he may have.
The jury trial is scheduled to continue until June 9 before Court of King's Bench Justice Richard Saull.
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