Defence rests in trial of Tia Pinancie-Littlechief

Tia Pinacie-Littlechief is part of a group of people walking into Court of Queen's Bench on March 23, 2018

The defence has wrapped its case in the second-degree murder trial of Tia Pinacie-Littlechief.

Pinacie-Littlechief is charged in the death of Justin Crowe, who was found dead in a home on Piapot First Nation in October of 2015.

On Tuesday, court heard audio and video recordings of the statement Raina Joyea made to police after Crowe’s death. Joyea was 16 years old the night of the party. She has since passed away in the years following the night Crowe died.

In the recording, Joyea said she didn’t remember what happened on the night Crowe died, since she was in a blackout state due to drinking too much. But, police noted she had bruises all over her body, indicating she might have been in a fight.

Later in the interview, the teen said there was a possibility she had been sexually assaulted, but she couldn’t say for sure. Joyea told police she was sore on her thighs and in between her legs. She also had an injury to the back of her head and told police multiple times that she couldn’t remember what happened to her or the events leading up to Crowe’s death.

The defence also briefly questioned one of the constables who took Henry Thorn’s statement to the RCMP. Cst. Anthony Bear was in charge of scribing Thorn’s statement. He told the jury after Thorn finished the statement, he said Crowe “has a short temper and has hit girls before.”

Closing arguments will begin on Wednesday afternoon.

With files from CTV Regina's Gina Martin