Witness tells murder trial what he saw the night Chelsie Probert died
Boy, 17, accused of second-degree murder in young woman's death
One of the first people to arrive on scene and witness Chelsie Probert dying on a Dartmouth, N.S., pathway told a murder trial Tuesday that she was lying in the grass with "no colour left in her" and "almost looked clammy."
"I assumed maybe it was bad drug, you never know," Greg MacDonald testified on the first day of a youth court trial in Halifax for the 17-year-old Dartmouth boy accused of killing Probert.
Probert, 18, was found on the path off Albro Lake Road in Dartmouth's north end on June 6, 2017, and later died in hospital. Police said at the time her death was a random act.
The accused, who cannot be identified because of his age, pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree murder last October. He is being tried by judge alone.
At that point, MacDonald turned around, followed the man down the pathway and saw that the woman was unresponsive.
"He was already on the phone with 911, he was attempting CPR," MacDonald said.
MacDonald said the ambulance was on the scene within three minutes, followed by police. Before he was called to the pathway, MacDonald said he "heard absolutely nothing."
Court hears 911 call
Travis Jackson, who had been on his way to a friend's house, called 911 and performed CPR on Probert until the ambulance arrived.
"She is not breathing, she's dying, man. I'm going to give her CPR," Jackson said in the 911 call, which was played for the court.
He testified Tuesday that Probert had a faint pulse.
"She was unconscious, she wasn't breathing."
A Halifax Regional Police officer testified that as paramedics were taking Probert away, they told him a wound had been found on her body.
Rusty gun found
Beer said ground search and rescue teams also recovered a very small rusty gun "that could fit in the palm of your hand" in a swampy area on nearby Farrell Street.
As well, they found two knives — one in a blue bag near Albro Lake Road and another on a person's property — that police determined were not related to the killing so were not sent for testing.
The knives, Beer said, were rusty and did not contain any fluid or blood. Police also found a black sock and two white sandals.
The boy charged in this case remains free on strict conditions, including electronic monitoring.
The trial is expected to wrap up next week.