Clerk testifies about encounter with accused on day of Corey Sisson's death
A clerk at the Pepper Creek G-Mart testified Thursday she had an unremarkable encounter with Jahradd (Jo) Williams and Robby Polchies on the same day the Crown alleges Polchies shot and killed Corey Sisson.
Polchies, 34, of Kingsclear First Nation is charged with first-degree murder.
G-Mart employee Taylor Kadisch said Williams was friendly when she came into the gas bar and convenience store on July 30, 2019, the same day Sisson was reported missing.
His body was found almost two weeks later in a forested area in Noonan, outside Fredericton on Aug. 10.
In an image taken from the G-Mart's security cameras, Kadisch identified the couple as Williams and Polchies.
In the photo Polchies wore a baggy, dark-coloured shirt and Williams wore a tank top and sweatpants rolled up to her knees.
The time stamp on the images shows the couple were there around 1:30 p.m.
Kadisch said she and Williams made small talk.
"We were just talking about what we were doing this weekend," said Kadisch.
"She said I looked familiar," said Kadisch, who was 23 at the time, and they got to talking.
But Kadisch said they didn't recognize each others' names when they introduced themselves.
According to Kadisch, Williams introduced her to Polchies, who she called her boyfriend.
Upon cross-examination, defence lawyer Brian Munro asked Kadisch if anything about the interaction stood out to her.
"Did she have any blood on her shoulders?"
"Not that I saw, no," said Kadisch.
"You'd probably remember something like that… What about brain matter in her hair? Or any type of stuff that was on her shoulders or guck, or goo?" asked Munro.
"Not that I recall," said Kadisch.
The Crown alleges Polchies convinced Sisson to go for a drive with him in a truck that belonged to their friend, Josh O'Hara, and the two then picked up Williams.
Crown prosecutor Rodney Jordan alleged the trio drove to a remote road in a forested area in Noonan where Polchies shot Sisson several times with O'Hara's shotgun. The Crown says on the way back to Fredericton, the couple stopped at the G-Mart.
RCMP testimony
RCMP Cpl Kevin Bowes testified Thursday afternoon. He works in forensic identification and photographed evidence in the case.
"If someone gets shot by a shotgun, would you expect to find blood somewhere on the person that shot the shotgun?" said Munro.
Bowes said he would expect to see blood splatter if it happened in close range, but reiterated he was not a blood splatter specialist.
Stolen truck
The same day Polchies and Williams were seen at the G-Mart, Corey Sisson's mother reported her 2015 Dodge Ram truck stolen.
The truck had a distinct blue colour with two dark stripes on the hood.
The Crown's second witness of the day, Emily Goodine, remembers seeing it.
Goodine's former boyfriend, Darrell Green, was supposed to go to her house to move her Chevy Silverado that had broken down in her driveway. He showed up at her house on the north side around noon with his friend, Josh O'Hara.
Goodine noted she and Green had parted ways a few years before as he went down a "rough path." Goodine said she found out about six months later that he had been using crystal meth.
Green and O'Hara were driving a blue Dodge Ram with two dark stripes on the hood, said Goodine.
"I had never seen a truck like that before, it had a very unique paint colour and it looked like it was new," she said.
Green told her it belonged to a friend of O'Hara's. Goodine said she didn't see anyone else in the truck.
It took Green and O'Hara about 15 to 20 minutes to boost the Chevy and get it moved out of the way. They then left.
Later in the day, Goodine said she saw a post on Facebook about a stolen blue Dodge Ram posted by Hannah London, Corey Sisson's mother. She recognized the truck immediately.
Goodine said Green came back to her house about three or four days later.
She said he talked about needing to get out of town.
He spent time in a tool shed on her property, where he would often spend time when he visited her and stored some of his things, including toolboxes.
He asked Goodine to drive him to his sister's house near Woodstock, she told the court.
Book bag retrieved
When cleaning out the shed a few days later, Goodine said she found an empty silver and black Under Armour book bag with blue accents.
She said she didn't recognize it and called Green about it. He told her it belonged to O'Hara, she said, and that she should get rid of it.
Goodine gave the bag, which was of interest to the investigation, to police.
The bag's connection to the case is unclear.
