'This was a crime of passion,' Closing submissions in Barrie murder trial

Jury finds Barrie man accused of 1994 murder not guilty Bruce Ellis was found not guilty for the 1994 murder of Katherine Janeiro.

Warning: Readers may find some details in this article disturbing or upsetting.

Closing submissions are underway on Thursday in the case of a Barrie man on trial for the death of a young mother 30 years ago.

Bruce Ellis, aka Robert MacQueen, is accused of fatally stabbing Katherine Janeiro in her Dunlop Street West apartment on Oct. 10, 1994.

He is charged with second-degree murder.

Crown attorney Mary-Anne Alexander told the court Ellis had been in an extra-marital affair with Janeiro that had ended badly.

Alexander alleged he got angry with Janeiro for telling his wife she was pregnant and spreading rumours he had contracted AIDS from an exotic dancer.

Last month, his ex-wife took the stand, telling the court they lived across the street from Janeiro's apartment and that Ellis often went to the young woman's place when the couple argued.

The Crown claimed Ellis took Janeiro's life in her bathtub while she was naked and vulnerable and moved her body to the bedroom, where she was later found.

A neighbour who often went to Janeiro's unit to borrow her phone found the 20-year-old's lifeless body face down on her bedroom floor and called the police.

During the trial, the court heard Janeiro had been buying and selling drugs and that several people had been in her apartment in the hours leading up to her body being found.

A witness took the stand to tell the courtroom that two men, Woody Theakston and Paul Daigle, were in Janeiro's kitchen rummaging through her cupboards before they fled the apartment.

The Crown said Theakston was in Janeiro's apartment looking for cough syrup for a friend and had a key to let himself in.

Daigle admitted to the court that when he realized Janeiro was dead, he and Theakston wiped their fingerprints from inside the unit. He also said he didn't call the police but later went to give a statement.

The defence pointed to Daigle, suggesting he moved Janeiro's body from the bathroom to the bedroom. He denied any involvement.

Theakston has since passed away.

Alexander went on to stress Theakston had an alibi for when Janeiro was fatally stabbed.

During the trial, the court also heard testimony from a woman who recounted seeing a man running toward Milligan's Pond the evening of the murder with a phone in his hands, the cord dangling.

The court had previously learned officers discovered Janeiro's phone had been ripped out of the wall and was missing.

The prosecution told the courtroom Ellis took the phone because he had paid for it, saying there was no way he was leaving it behind, detailing for the jury how upset Ellis allegedly was over the phone bill.

The phone was later found in a creek.

"This was not about drugs. This was not about cash. This was personal," the Crown argued on Thursday, adding, "This was a crime of passion."

Defence lawyer Mary Cremer countered the prosecution's case, telling the jury Ellis had no reason to kill Janeiro, calling the Crown's motive for murder weak and nonsensical.

"Killing someone over a household bill," Cremer said, "makes absolutely no sense."

The defence once again pointed the finger at someone other than Ellis.

"Woody never once showed any concern for Kathy's welfare and at all times remained 100 per cent concerned about himself," Cremer said, noting the alleged drug dealer was expected to visit Janeiro the night of her death.

Ellis, now 61, has maintained his innocence throughout the trial.

With files from CTV's Mike Arsalides