Monday marked an emotional day in a Winnipeg courtroom for the family of Mackaylah Gerard-Roussin, as the murder trial for the man accused of killing her gets underway.
Josh Benoit, 24, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in her death.
Gerard-Roussin was last seen on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022. Days later, her body was found on a remote ATV trail near Woodridge in southern Manitoba. Crown attorneys Danielle Simard and Renee Lagimodiere told the court Gerard-Roussin was stabbed to death, and her body was found in a plastic container.
On Monday, the court heard tearful testimony from loved ones of Gerard-Roussin.
“We were like sisters,” Autumn Batangan, Gerard-Roussin’s friend and cousin, told the court. Batangan said she last saw Gerard-Roussin, 20, on the day she went missing. She told the court they had spent two hours together singing country music.
The court heard Gerard-Roussin had met Benoit through Rossbrook House, a drop-in centre for youth. Batangan told court she had received a missed Facebook Messenger call from Benoit shortly after 2 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 26, and grew concerned when Gerard-Roussin didn’t show up for work that day. She said she made repeated attempts to contact Benoit, but testified he was ignoring her calls.
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Benoit sat emotionless in court Monday as his father, Ronaldo Alejandro, took the stand to testify against his son.
“I’m here to tell the truth,” he told the court.
Alejandro testified that he received a call from Benoit to help him with a flat tire on his car. He went to Benoit’s mother’s house in Steinbach on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022, where Benoit’s vehicle was parked. He testified that he opened the back of Benoit’s grey Mazda 3 to find a tarp covering a plastic container, and found a body was inside.
Alejandro’s 911 call to report his son was played in court. During it, he can be heard abruptly telling the operator that Benoit has left the house and fled in the Mazda 3.
A Steinbach RCMP officer that responded to the 911 call testified that officers witnessed Benoit’s vehicle heading west on Highway 52 near La Broquerie, Man. Police dashcam footage played in court shows RCMP pulling over and arresting Benoit on the side of the highway. Moments later, the vehicle Benoit was driving becomes engulfed in flames.
The court heard it’s believed Benoit lit the vehicle on fire and Gerard-Roussin’s DNA was found in the vehicle but her body was not.
The trial is scheduled to run for three weeks.
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