Girlfriend testifies she found victim's belongings at property of man accused of murder
Cristin Wise testified at trial for Eric Wildman, accused of 1st-degree murder in death of Clifford Joseph
A green pickup truck left with its doors wide open and its keys lying on the ground was one of the first clues the girlfriend of a man allegedly murdered by his neighbour says eventually led her to call police.
Cristin Wise said it wasn't long after discovering Clifford Joseph's truck on a rural property Manitoba near their home that she found several of his belongings — a hat, a pair of shoes and a headlamp — scattered across their neighbour's property in the village of Stead in June 2021.
Wise, now 44, was emotional at times as she told a Winnipeg court on Tuesday about the last time she saw her boyfriend more than three years ago. Her testimony came on the second day of what's expected to be a month-long first-degree murder trial for Eric Wildman, 38. He has pleaded not guilty.
Wise said when she woke up on the morning of June 7, 2021 — the day prosecutors allege Wildman killed Joseph — her boyfriend hadn't come to bed and wasn't answering her texts.
Joseph had told her earlier he wanted to take a trailer winch from his neighbour, so after discovering his truck and taking it home, she went to Wildman's property to look for her boyfriend. Wise said while she didn't find him there, she did find his toolkit on the ground beside the trailer he'd planned to take the winch from, she told court.
Prosecutors allege Wildman hit Joseph with his vehicle when the victim came to his property to steal, then took the injured man to another location where he shot him three times, including once in the back of the head.
Wise and a group of friends searched for Joseph in the days that followed. His remains weren't found until the following month.
'You're an admitted liar': defence
During cross-examination, Wildman's lawyer accused Wise of lying when she testified she saw Joseph's truck pull out of their driveway around 3:30 a.m. on the day he was last seen.
Defence lawyer Martin Glazer also pointed out that Wise already hid information from police after reporting Joseph missing — specifically, the fact that he used drugs and had planned to steal from his neighbour.
Wise replied that she didn't initially share that information because at the time she thought Joseph had just gotten lost or hurt himself, and she feared it would cause officers to take the case less seriously.
"You think it's OK to lie to the police if you have a reason?" Glazer said.
"I don't," she said. "I was worried about him. All I cared about was finding Cliffy."
WATCH | Murder trial begins for Manitoba man accused of killing neighbour:
Glazer also noted that Joseph was known to use drugs and had been cheating on his girlfriend at the time, and suggested the victim could have lied to her about wanting to steal from his neighbour to cover up what he was really doing.
He also raised questions about the belongings Wise said she found in the field on Wildman's property — particularly the fact that she took them all home before being asked by police to put them back where she found them to the best of her memory, so officers could see where they had been discovered.
"All we have is your word that you found these in the field," Glazer said. "You're an admitted liar."
The lawyer also said Wise was the one with a reason to hurt her boyfriend, after learning he'd been cheating on her.
"I would never hurt him," Wise said.
This is the second trial for Wildman related to Joseph's death, after his first ended in a mistrial.
The jury trial, before Manitoba Court of King's Bench Justice Richard Saull, continues Wednesday. It's expected to continue until Feb. 14.
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