A veteran Mountie used every weapon in his arsenal of interview techniques to extract a confession from a man accused of killing an 18-month-old child.
In a riveting two-hour taped interview played for a Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench jury on Tuesday, Sgt. Nick Korejbo, formerly of Red Deer city RCMP, coaxes a confession from Evan Caswell Gilmer.
Gilmer, 33, of Red Deer is charged with the second-degree murder of Garth Leippi who was taken off life-support a day after he suffered a massive brain injury in a downtown Red Deer apartment on Oct. 12, 2008.
During the interview at a Calgary police station on the evening of Oct. 12, 2008, Korejbo is relentless.
Now stationed in Surrey, B.C., Korejbo, who has been a policeman for more than 20 years, can be heard appealing to Gilmer to “get the truth out” and remove this “heavy load off his chest.”
The child was still alive at this point and on life-support at the Children’s Hospital in Calgary.
Gilmer tells Korejbo that he went to check on the boy about 4:15 a.m. when his persistent crying didn’t cease.
Gilmer says he found the child had thrown up in his playpen, which was his bed, and was “literally vibrating” from shaking.
The child had his stained clothes removed and taken into the living room.
Gilmer said the boy sat on the floor and the accused left the apartment to go for a smoke outside.
He returned 15 minutes later and found the boy lying on the floor.
Thinking he was sleeping, Gilmer said he put a blanket on the child.
He then said he couldn’t wake the boy so he slapped his face and shook him. He then attempted CPR and when that failed he went to fetch the boy’s mother, Jennifer Gladue, who was sleeping and wearing earplugs because of Gilmer’s loud snoring.
Emergency responders were called shortly after 6 a.m.
Korejbo told Gilmer his story didn’t add up.
The officer questioned why, if he professed to love the child, did Gilmer leave him alone when he had just thrown up and was vibrating.
Asked if he was violent or had a record, Gilmer admitted he once had a peace bond placed against him by a woman and was addicted to drugs but managed to get off them with “God’s help” and guidance from counsellors.
Gilmer is crying off and on throughout the interview but the officer keeps hammering away.
Gilmer said the child must have had a previous head injury when he fell and hit his head about a month earlier.
“Something else happened,” the officer said.
Korejbo then said for the sake of the boy, his mother and himself, Gilmer should tell the truth.
“For Garth’s sake and his soul is listening” and he wants you to tell what happened, Korejbo said.
Korejbo told Gilmer he needs to give the boy “that peace” as he fights for his life in a nearby hospital.
Korejbo tells Gilmer not to dig himself into a deeper hole.
The officer said if Gilmer believed that God helped him get off drugs then he needs to tell the truth now.
“Just as Garth needs God’s help now, you need his help to come clean.”
Gilmer finally breaks down and admits that he was on his knees in the living room hunched over the boy when he attempted to pick him up but he started falling.
Gilmer said he had bad knees and wanted to quickly lift the child to take him to his mother.
However, when losing his balance he put one hand out to support himself with the weight of his 104 kg (230 pounds) landing flush on the child’s head.
Testimony earlier this week heard the back of the boy’s head suffered numerous breaks resulting in severe brain swelling.
Medical experts testified the injury was so severe it resembled head injuries children suffer when run over by vehicles or get thrown around unrestrained in serious car crashes.
One expert testified the injury could have resulted when the child was picked up by the shoulders and thrown violently backward down, striking a flat, blunt object.
The trial continues before Justice Monica Bast.
jwilson@www.reddeeradvocate.com
— copyright Red Deer Advocate