Bradley Barton's lawyer urges manslaughter jury to wait for all the evidence
Janice Johnston | CBC News | Posted: February 2, 2021 1:28 AM | Last Updated: February 2, 2021
Warning: This article includes graphic and disturbing details
The man accused of killing Cindy Gladue took the stand Monday, after his lawyer urged the jury to carefully weigh all the evidence and not jump to conclusions about his client.
Lawyer Dino Bottos asked the jurors to be open minded about Bradley Barton, who has been charged with manslaughter in the June 2011 death.
"Mr. Barton has probably come across to you as crude, maybe even diabolical and a liar," Bottos said. "I understand that. It's a natural reaction. But you would be wrong to conclude that because you haven't heard all of the evidence."
Bottos said only one person knows what happened in the Edmonton hotel room where Gladue died.
Last week, the jury was told Barton conducted hundreds of pornographic searches over a three-month period on his computer. Days before he met Gladue, there were several searches for information about causing injuries during sex.
"What this case is not about is whether you think Mr. Barton is a bad person and should be convicted because he watched a lot of porn or searched for ripped or torn vaginas," Bottos told the jury.
"It's not about whether he's a bad person and should be convicted for having cheated on his wife. It's not about whether he's a bad person for leaving her in the bathtub at 7:40 in the morning."
After three weeks of Crown evidence, Barton took the witness stand Monday in Edmonton Court of Queen's Bench.
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- 'Considerable' force needed to fatally injure Cindy Gladue, jury told
The jury has been told that Gladue suffered an 11-centimetre wound to her vagina that resulted in fatal blood loss. The injury happened on the second night she and Barton were sexually intimate at the Yellowhead Inn in west Edmonton.
'We chit chatted'
Barton lived in Ontario in June 2011 and worked as a long-distance trucker for a moving company.
He testified that on the first night he stayed at the Yellowhead Inn, he went to the Lucky Lady lounge inside the hotel for a drink then outside for a cigarette. He said he spotted a man walking around picking up cigarette butts.
"I asked if he knew of any lady friends he had," Barton told the jury. "He said he did. He rode off on his bicycle."
The man returned with Gladue and introduced her to Barton.
"We chit-chatted," Barton said. "I asked her what would the price be and she said $100."
He said they agreed on $60 as a payment for sex.
Barton said he took Gladue to his room and had sex with her. He said he inserted his hand into her vagina up to his knuckles.
"She was moaning and groaning," Barton testified. "Having a good time."
Barton said they exchanged phone numbers.
"Had she expressed any complaint or injury to you?" Bottos asked.
"No, not at all," Barton replied.
Second night together
The next night, Barton said, he called Gladue to see if she wanted to return to the hotel.
She showed up at the hotel bar about 20 minutes later and snuggled up to him while they sat at a table with one of Barton's co-workers.
Barton said Gladue drank two vodka coolers in the bar. On an intoxication scale of zero to 10, he estimated that Gladue was around four or five.
"She was walking fine," Barton testified. "She was bubbly. Happy. It was like the night before."
The jury has been told that an autopsy revealed Gladue's blood alcohol content was four times the legal limit.
Barton said he and Gladue walked back to room 139 and each drank a beer.
"I asked her if she was good to go and she said yes," he testified.
Like the night before, he said, Gladue went to the washroom and emerged naked.
"We started into sexual activity," he said. "Everything was good. We were both enjoying each other's company."
Barton told the jury he inserted his hand one to two centimetres deeper on the second night and kept it there for about 10 minutes.
He said Gladue did not appear to be in pain or express any reluctance.
"There was a bunch of blood" on his hand when he pulled it out, he said. He asked if Gladue was getting her period and she said she wasn't sure.
"I said I'm not interested in it no more," Barton testified. "I explained to her I wasn't going to pay her because there was nothing completed."
Barton went to the washroom to clean the blood off his hand. After he returned to the bedroom, Gladue went into the bathroom.
Barton said he fell asleep and described himself as a heavy sleeper.
'There was so much blood'
After a wake-up call the next morning, Barton walked into the washroom.
"I see Cindy laying in the tub, blood everywhere," he testified. "I panicked. I grabbed a towel. I had blood all over my feet from walking in. I tried to wash my feet."
Barton denied he was trying to erase evidence. He said he poked Gladue but saw no signs of life.
"There was so much blood everywhere," he said. "I was in shock. I didn't know what happened. I just had to get out of there."
Barton dressed, left the room and checked out of the hotel. After a co-worker told him to call police, Barton returned to the hotel room and called 911.
He admitted he lied to the front desk clerk and to the 911 operator.
Barton's retrial was ordered by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2019.
His testimony is expected to continue Tuesday.