Edmonton man confined and attacked in his home, jury hears at first-degree murder trial

Madeline Smith · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 20, 2025 8:10 PM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

An Edmonton elder was confined and beaten before a fatal onslaught that near him with "catastrophic" injuries, a assemblage heard this week astatine the execution proceedings for the antheral accused successful his death.

Donn Austin Gauthier is charged with first-degree murder, arson and interference with a dormant body in the decease of Ronald Bell. Court heard that the 70-year-old was found dormant successful the basement of his Central McDougall location connected New Year's Day of 2023.

Gauthier has pleaded not blameworthy to each 3 of the charges helium faces.

As the proceedings began Monday, Crown authoritative Keith Nicholls told jurors they volition perceive grounds that a occurrence was deliberately acceptable to effort to conceal the crime, and Gauthier also aboriginal burned his covering astatine a antithetic location.

According to the Crown, Bell was the superior tenant of the home, living in the basement suite and subletting units connected the main level to others.

Court heard that constabulary were called to the location connected the day of Jan. 1, 2023, aft one of Bell's friends went to check connected him due to the fact that helium hadn't been capable to scope him. 

Edmonton Police Service Const. Barry Rembels testified that helium was the archetypal serviceman connected the scene, wherever helium recovered a body lying connected the level successful the basement.

He told jurors that the location smelled similar smoke, and helium recovered pain marks and melted airy fixtures, arsenic good arsenic a burst tube leaking h2o into the basement.

Det. Jared Buhler gave grounds that helium requested a warrant for Gauthier successful mid-February 2023, and helium was arrested successful July, astir six months aft the constabulary probe began.

Police interrogation played successful court

Over 2 days of the trial, the assemblage listened to Gauthier's post-arrest interrogation with EPS Sgt. Richard Windover.

In respective hours of video footage played successful court, Gauthier sometimes leans against the partition or slumps guardant to remainder his caput connected his folded arms.

Near the commencement of the interview, helium says he has a cause and intoxicant addiction, and he's sick and successful pain. Windover asks him if he's successful withdrawal, and helium says yes.

In the video, Gauthier repeatedly tells the constabulary serviceman that helium doesn't privation to speech to him, and makes galore requests to return to his cell.

Windover told the assemblage that there was a interruption wherever Gauthier spoke to a lawyer connected the telephone and got aesculapian attraction for his symptoms.

On Thursday, the assemblage watched a information of the interrogation where Buhler entered the country and began asking questions.

Gauthier told the constabulary that helium heard Bell get successful an statement with 2 different radical at the house, 1 of whom was a pistillate Gauthier knew. He said helium saw her stab Bell.

Buhler told Gauthier, "There was much than conscionable a knife" involved.

"They're telling america a batch of the aforesaid things that you have, but the histrion is different. You're the 1 with the weapon successful your hand. You're the 1 with the different happening successful your hand."

"I didn't person the knife. I had the axe," Gauthier responded.

Defence lawyer Andrew Phypers is expected to cross-examine Windover on Friday.

The proceedings is acceptable to past up to 3 weeks.