When medical responders found Beverly Littlecrow unconscious in her Kinley, Sask., home two years ago, her boyfriend told them she had fallen and hit her head on some outdoor steps three days prior.
But a girl — whose identity is protected by a publication ban — told police that the night before Littlecrow died, she saw Gabriel Joseph Faucher punch her five times during a fight in which Littlecrow hit her head on a dresser.
Dave Beeson, an emergency medical responder (EMR), testified at Faucher’s manslaughter trial in Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench on Wednesday. He said Faucher informed him that Littlecrow had been in a coma due to a traumatic brain injury, and asked if the woman was in a coma again.
“She was in a bad way,” Beeson testified. “I couldn’t understand why this would happen unless she went down that day.”
Faucher, 45, is accused of causing the injuries that led to Littlecrow’s death on Jan. 24, 2016.
Beverly Littlecrow.
That day, Faucher was interviewed by Staff Sgt. Murray Chamberlin of the RCMP Major Crimes Unit. Their video-recorded interview was played in court on Wednesday.
Faucher told the officer that three days before — a Thursday — he and Littlecrow fell together on the stairs outside their home as they were taking out the garbage. He said it sounded like Littlecrow hit her head on a wooden post along the stairs, but he couldn’t see because of the way they fell. She was bleeding above the eye and his face was scratched, Faucher said.
Beeson said when he dealt with Littlecrow on Sunday, she had hematoma bruising around her right eye and a cut above the eye that wasn’t bleeding.
Littlecrow appeared fine on Friday but was tired and didn’t feel well on Saturday, Faucher told Chamberlin. He said he awoke to a bang early the next morning and felt the weight of Littlecrow’s body on top of him.
He figured she got up to get a drink and hit her head on the wall when she came back into the room, because there was a mark on the drywall, he said, adding that Littlecrow’s brain injury affected her balance.
When he turned the light on, his girlfriend was “out” and he immediately called for an ambulance, Faucher said.
The girl testified that she heard fighting and a bang before Faucher woke her up and said something was wrong. She said Faucher was lying when he told people that Littlecrow fell outside and hit her head on a pole.