Witnessed Hart have seizure, undercover officer tells jury

An undercover police officer has told a Newfoundland Supreme Court jury he witnessed Nelson Hart have a brief epileptic seizure.

The officer, whose identity is protected by court order, told the jury in a Gander courtroom on Wednesday that Hart began to panic during a transaction in Gander one evening.

Hart, who is being tried on two counts of first-degree murder involving the August 2002 drowning deaths of his twin three-year-old daughters Krista and Karen at Gander Lake, was working with what he thought was a powerful criminal gang.

It was actually a complicated undercover operation put together by the RCMP.

Hart — whoinitially toldpolicehe left the girls at the lake to get help— later changed his story to say he had had an epileptic seizure and that the drownings were accidental.

The officer testified that one evening he and Hart were in a vehicle, preparing to sell what Hart believed was a set of counterfeit credit cards, when Hart began to panic.

The officer told the court that Hart suddenly demanded to go to the washroom urgently and quickly left the car.

Hart described as non-responsive

Hart laterappeared non-responsive, staring right through the officer, court was told.

When Hart snapped out of it a minute later, court was told, he didn't want to talk about it. The officer told the jury it seemed like Hart had had a seizure.

At that point, Hart's mother, Pearl Hart, left the courtroom with tears in her eyes.

The Crown has said it will introduce videotaped evidence of Hart telling undercover officers that his explanations of epileptic seizures were a cover story he told and that he had planned to kill his daughters all along.

On Tuesday, court was told that Hart told an undercover officer in a Montreal bar that he killed his daughters. That conversation was not recorded.

Officer dropped hints

Meanwhile, the officer also testified that Hart wanted to earn enough money from what he thought was a criminal gang to provide vacations and small luxuries for his family.

Hart was recruited to work for a non-existent trucking company. Eventually, undercover officers informed him that he was making deliveries for a criminal organization.

The officer testified that he dropped hints quickly to Hart that he was breaking the law, and that some of the goods he was moving were stolen.

The officer told the jury Hart said he would do anything, as long as the money was good.

For instance, when Hart was told that he had driven a small truckload of contraband rum, the officer testified, Hart said he would drive a 45-footer of bootlegged rum as long as the money was good and he knew that other members of what he assumed was a gang were watching his back.

The officer said Hart talked about making enough money to take his wife on a holiday to Disney World in Florida, or to Hawaii.

Hart asked for an advance to buy his wife a family ring, the officer said, and also wanted to buy a leather jacket like ones the undercover officers had been wearing.

He told the officers one of his dreams was to take his wife to a taping of the TV program The Price is Right.

Court has been told that Hart, who had been living on social assistance, had earned about $15,000 from what he thought was a Montreal-based criminal gang.