Accused killer Bradley Barton searched internet for details on rough sex, court hears
Janice Johnston | CBC News | Posted: January 29, 2021 2:16 AM | Last Updated: January 29, 2021
Warning: Graphic and disturbing details
Nine days before Cindy Gladue was found dead in an Edmonton hotel bathroom, her accused killer scoured the internet for information on how a woman might be injured during rough sex.
Bradley Barton is on trial for manslaughter in Court of Queen's Bench. It is a retrial that was ordered by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2019.
In the summer of 2011, the 52-year-old former long-distance truck driver met Gladue in a bar at the Yellowhead Inn. She went back to his room on June 20 and June 21.
Police found Gladue's naked, bloodied body in the bathroom of Barton's hotel room in the morning on June 22 after Barton called 911.
The jury has been told that Gladue died from blood loss caused by a fatal 11-centimetre injury to her vaginal wall due to blunt force trauma.
After Barton was arrested in 2011, his laptop computer was seized and forensically searched.
- Police interview video of accused killer Bradley Barton reveals statements contradicted by evidence
- Bradley Barton appeared 'not really bothered' by dead body in bathroom, witness says
- 'Considerable' force needed to fatally injure Cindy Gladue, jury told
According to an agreed statement of facts read aloud to the jury on Thursday, there were 191 searches or website accesses on Barton's laptop on June 13, 2011.
"Most of the sites were pornographic and freely accessible on the internet," Crown prosecutor Lawrence Van Dyke told the jury. "The Crown is not alleging that the websites accessed … contain any child pornography."
Barton's computer was used to access websites showing beach nudity, anal sex, "blue videos" and looking up women's skirts.
Seven times, searches focused on vaginas getting ripped or torn by "huge objects."
Barton's computer was also used to access a medical website to find out about the impact of childbirth on the mother's vagina.
Justice Stephen Hillier cautioned the jury before the agreed statement of facts was read.
"The internet activity that you will hear about may give you a poor impression of his [Barton's] character or disposition," Hillier said. "It is important that you not find him guilty to punish him for his past conduct."
The judge also warned the jury to avoid myths or stereotypes when evaluating the witnesses or the evidence.
"When a person seems to be different than others … we risk making assumptions about the kind of people they are based on what we know or think we know about people like that," Hillier said. "It's very important that you do not make decisions based on those assumptions."
The judge noted that Gladue was Indigenous, and asked the jury of seven men and six women to be especially careful about the "very real dangers related to stereotyping in the context of Indigenous persons".
Hillier said Indigenous women and girls "have been subjected to a long history of colonization and systemic racism" and that any assumptions tied to Gladue's Indigenous background or gender are "unsound and unfair."
Bloodstain analysis
Before the Crown closed its case Thursday, the jury heard from an Edmonton police officer who was qualified as an expert in bloodstain pattern analysis.
Const. Nancy Allan reviewed hundreds of crime scene photos to provide her opinions.
She determined that a blood-soaked bedspread was consistent with Gladue being in direct or close contact to the item while she was bleeding.
Some of the bedding was found balled up on the floor of the hotel room when police arrived. There were also less saturated blood stains on some of the other bedding including a blanket and pillowcase.
Allan determined the blood found in the bathtub indicated Gladue was repeatedly moving in the tub while she was bleeding.
She also analyzed the stains that had been altered by dilution on the bathroom tile floor and determined they indicated someone had tried to clean the blood.
The Crown has closed its case.
Defence lawyer Dino Bottos will deliver an opening statement to the jury on Monday morning. Then he will put Barton on the witness stand to testify in his own defence.
The trial was briefly put on hold on Monday after Barton awaited results from a COVID-19 test. He tested negative and returned to the courtroom Thursday.