‘I hope you rot in jail’: Crown witness makes comment to man at the centre of Saskatoon murder trial

WATCH: A Saskatoon courtroom heard a recorded interview on Tuesday that police conducted with Andrew Rosendfeldt, accused of second-degree murder in the death o

About six hours after 20-year-old Nykera Brown was shot and killed, Saskatoon police questioned her boyfriend, Andrew Rosenfeldt.

The recorded interview played Tuesday at Saskatoon’s Court of King’s Bench on the second day of Rosenfeldt’s second-degree murder trial.

Brown was found dead around 8 p.m. on Nov. 15, 2022, inside the apartment she shared with Rosenfeldt at 124 Avenue P South.

At about 3 a.m., Rosenfeldt sat in a small interview room across from Sgt. Brock Lynden. He sat on a metal stool; his arms tucked inside his shirt with the sleeves hanging loose.

He claimed two men wearing balaclavas, black clothing and red shoes broke in.

“They came in, shot her and they left,” Rosenfeldt said in the interview

“Who is ‘they’?” Lynden asked.

“They came in, shot her and they left,” Rosenfeldt said in the interview

He told police he saw one of the intruders holding a gun as they ran out.

But surveillance footage showed no masked men entering or leaving the building during that timeframe.

“Did you shoot Nykera?” Lynden asked.

“No,” Rosenfeldt quickly replied.

“Did she shoot herself?”

Rosenfeldt said he didn’t see the shooting, he only heard it.

He told police there was no gun in the home. Rosenfeldt said Brown was a gang member. He had seen her handle a firearm with her “higher-up.”

He said he called 911 from the apartment’s landline right after the gunshot.

Rosenfeldt told police Brown’s friend, Catherine Iron, and her boyfriend, Cole Zimmerman, had stopped by earlier that evening.

Friend testifies Rosenfeldt was ‘very abusive’

Iron testified she and Zimmerman had gone to the apartment to go for a walk with Brown.

“I came and visited her because she said no one takes her out and [Rosenfeldt] was very abusive towards her,” Iron said.

Iron said she’d seen Brown with black eyes, though she never witnessed Rosenfeldt hit her.

Before leaving for the walk, Iron testified Brown was doing her makeup in the living room.

Iron told court Rosenfeldt was “sketching out on methamphetamine”, paranoid about what the women were discussing. She said she and Zimmerman were also using meth and drinking.

She testified seeing a gun wrapped in black tape on the bed, before Brown moved it under the bed.

She said she left the apartment with Brown, but Brown went back inside, saying she forgot something.

“That was the last time I seen her,” Iron said.

Cross-examination by defence lawyer Chris Murphy became tense as he pressed the Crown witness about her gang ties and credibility.

“I know you’re trying to turn it on me,” Iron said.

The judge ordered a five minute breath for Iron “to take a breath.”

As Iron left the courtroom, she walked past Rosenfeldt in the prisoner’s box and muttered, “I hope you rot in jail.”

‘I’ll always love her’: Rosenfeldt describes relationship with Brown

Rosenfeldt said he and Brown had been dating for about a year, but had known each other since childhood.

He described a tumultuous relationship, marked by mutual suspicion of cheating.

Rosenfeldt said he had witnessed Brown commit acts of self-harm. He said she would sometimes get violent with him, but he “would never hit a girl.”

He alluded to plans of proposing, mentioning that he purchased a ring.

“Do you love her?” Lynden asked.

Rosenfeldt began crying and nodded in the recording.

“I’ll always love her,” he said.