Trial underway for 2019 stabbing death in Red Deer

The trial began with testimony from two Crown witnesses – a husband and wife who lived next door to Gallant and Carter on 40A Avenue at the time of his death.

Both admitted to not knowing who had delivered the fatal stab wounds to Joseph Gallant.

Rolland Rivera testified he was in his basement that evening when he heard banging shortly after midnight.

“I left the room and proceeded to go upstairs and realized the banging was coming from the back door, and at some point, the doorbell started ringing as well,” he recalled. “I could not see who it was on the other side, so I went to the kitchen and looked out the back window and called out. Somebody walked into my vision and there was a man there.”

Rivera told court, “It was a man, middle-aged. I believe brownish hair, slightly balding. I remember seeing a tattoo and he was wearing pants, but shirtless. He had a large knife or machete in his hand and a sheaf covering it.”

“He said call 911, I’ve been stabbed,” added Rivera. “He repeated that several times. He was in distress, agitated. At one point while I was observing him, he lifted I think his right arm, and blood started pouring out from his underarm.”

Rolland’s wife, Chelsie Barnes-Rivera, testified she had just come out of the shower at the time and was playing music on her cell phone while getting ready for bed, when she heard loud shouting.

”The shouting was kind of panicked,” she explained. “I realized the shouting was coming from outside the house and the doorbell was ringing repeatedly. My husband came into the kitchen area with me and we looked through the back window of our kitchen. We wanted to ascertain what was going on first.”

Barnes-Rivera says that’s when her husband told her there was someone on the back step who was injured, and to call 911.

Soon afterwards, the injured man disappeared from the couple’s view while they waited for help to arrive.

“We decided to look out our back door and noted quite a large pool of blood on our back step on the mat, as well as a machete lying in the pool of blood on the mat,” she remarked. “We noted there were several droplets of blood on the front step as well, but never heard anyone at the front of the house.”

Roughly one dozen Crown witnesses are anticipated to take the stand during Strawberry’s trial this week, with most expected to testify during a voir dire (trial within a trial) over the next couple of days.

Jennifer Lee Caswell, 39, pled guilty last September to assault causing bodily harm for her role in the incident, and was sentenced to eight months in prison satisfied by time already served.

She was also charged with second-degree murder before that count was withdrawn due to the low likelihood of a conviction, according to Crown prosecutors.

Caswell will be a witness for the defense when she takes the stand Thursday morning.

Justice Marilyn Slawinsky is presiding over the judge-alone trial, which is scheduled for three weeks.

by Sheldon Spackman

Trial underway for 2019 stabbing death in Red Deer

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