‘You are going to hear him lie’: Crown lays out opening argument in murder trial of Kenneth Skelly

The Crown laid out its opening statement in the trial of Kenneth Skelly in the death of his son's mother, Treasa Oberly.

The trial for a man accused of killing the mother of his young son continued on Tuesday.

Kenneth Skelly is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Treasa Oberly, 40, who disappeared from her home in Beaumont in July 2023.

Her body was later found near Whitecourt.

Inside a Wetaskiwin courthouse on Tuesday, the Crown’s opening remarks painted a picture of lies used to cover up a murder.

The Crown claims Skelly struck Oberly in the head in their garage.

She told the jury, “You are going to hear him lie and hear about the lies he told police,” adding Skelly’s motive was getting out of the relationship with Oberly.

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Several RCMP officers were called as witnesses.

The officer who initially responded to do a wellness check on Oberly testified first.

He told the court Skelly said Oberly had gone to the United States to visit family, but there was no record with CBSA or Homeland Security of her crossing the border.

The jury was also shown a video statement Skelly gave to police when the investigation turned from a missing persons case to a criminal investigation.

In the video, Skelly described Oberly as unstable and out of control and claimed on the morning of her disappearance, he told her to go and get help because he’d had enough of her ranting.

He also told a story about people showing up at his house looking for Oberly, claiming she owed them $50,000.

Oberly’s friend Tracey McCleave spoke to CTV News Edmonton about her friend on Tuesday.

“She was just a very involved, loving mother,” she said.

“We’ve been going through this for years, also taking care of her son, and it’s been a journey and a very emotional one.”

She added it’s important to be in court for the trial for her friend and the five-year-old boy she left behind.

“He’s such a great kid. I told him he’s going to be an architect when he’s older.”

“He misses his mother. He knows his mother’s passed, and we keep her very much, very much a part of his life.”

The trial continues on Wednesday.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Amanda Anderson