Tensions were high on Tuesday, as the parents of a man dubbed an “alternate suspect” by the defence took the stand in Dean Penney’s first-degree murder trial.

Norma Hillier, mother of Derick Hillier, was adamant she was with her son in Gander on the day Jennifer Hillier-Penney was last seen 700 kilometres northwest in St. Anthony.

When the defence raised doubts about that story, Norma Hillier pushed back, saying it felt like she was the one on trial. Her answers strayed from the questions she was asked, as she insisted her son — who is now dead — had done nothing wrong.

At one point she turned her gaze to Penney, who was sitting nearby in the prisoner’s box, and urged him to look her in the eyes.

“Stop that,” said Justice Vikas Khaladkar, slamming his hands down on the bench in front of him. “I told you to answer the questions. You cannot do that.”

Defence pokes holes in alibi

From the outset of the trial, defence lawyers Mark Gruchy and Jeff Brace have told the jury about Derick Hillier — Jennifer Hillier-Penney’s cousin, who had been hospitalized with mental health issues prior to her disappearance.

Multiple witnesses have testified that Derick called Jennifer while he was in the hospital and said he was coming to take her to a party in heaven with several of their dead relatives.

His parents acknowledged on Tuesday that Derick was back in St. Anthony in November of 2016, but insisted he left town before Jennifer was last seen on Nov. 30.

His mother, who was living in central Newfoundland at the time, said she drove to Gander and met Derick as he was driving across the province that day. Her bank records show purchases at Tim Hortons, where she said she met Derick in the parking lot. They ate sandwiches and snacks, she testified, and then he went on his way.

But the defence introduced a statement she gave to the RCMP on Feb. 15, 2017, when she told an investigator that she spoke to Derick about Jennifer’s disappearance during the very same meeting in Gander.

She also told the investigator that she ran into two friends from St. Anthony in the same parking lot on the same day, and they also discussed Jennifer’s disappearance.

The problem, the defence contended, was that Jennifer wasn’t reported missing until the following day.

“I made a mistake,” Norma Hillier said. “I didn’t know Jennifer was missing until one o’clock the next day.”

Norma Hillier testified she was back and forth to Gander to visit a sick relative multiple times that week. Defence lawyer Mark Gruchy asked her if it was possible she met with Derick on Dec. 1, the day after Jennifer Hillier-Penney was last seen.

She said no.

She said she mixed up the conversation with a phone call she had with Derick on Dec. 1, after he arrived in St. John’s, when they discussed Jennifer’s disappearance.

When asked why she told the RCMP that she also had the same conversation with another couple in the same parking lot on the same day, she again said she made a mistake.

“The only thing that matters to me is that I was with my son that day, so they can’t accuse him,” she told the court.

What I’m saying is the truth.– Graham Hillier

Derick Hillier’s father, Graham Hillier, also testified on Tuesday.

He told the court he saw his son leave his house in St. Anthony on the morning of Nov. 30, 2016, and take the highway out of town.

In statements to police in 2017, Graham Hillier said he was “pretty sure” it was Nov. 30, and asked his wife to confirm. He also told police at the time that he wasn’t positive he saw Derick get on the highway and leave town.

On Tuesday, however, Graham Hillier was adamant about both — that Derick left town on the 30th, and that he watched him go.

“What I’m saying is the truth,” he said. “Derick was not home the night that Jennifer went missing.”

The trial continues Wednesday.

SOURCE: CBC