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Former stripper testifies about accused killer's threats, stolen wages

Trial of nephew's killer gave Ottawa lawyer victim's view of justice system

A former stripper who befriended homicide victim Michael Wassill told an Ottawa courtroom Thursday that his alleged killer became increasingly threatening in the days leading up to his death.

The woman resumed testifying Thursday, more than one week after saying her relationship with Carson Morin gradually began to sour as he lived off the money she made stripping and arranging marijuana deals.

She cannot be named due to a publication ban.

The Crown has argued that Wassill, 20, was trying to protect the woman from Morin when he barged into his Orléans home on May 15, 2013, eventually slashing him across the neck with a boxcutter.

Morin has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.

The woman had previously testified that Morin had found her a job stripping at the same club where his sister worked.

She would make between $400 and $800 during her shift and give it to Morin, who would put it into a safe that only he could access.

Was living with victim

On Thursday, the woman said she'd had enough of living with Morin and moved in with Wassill on May 9, 2013 — six days before his death.

Shortly after moving in with Wassill, the woman confronted Morin and accused him of stealing her money, she told the courtroom.

The following day, she said, they had a heated argument in Morin's car.

"[He was] aggressive. He was shouting and banging his fists on the steering wheel," the woman said.

Morin said he had to take money from the women he recruited as strippers because he had no other way to earn an income, the woman said.

He threatened that if she didn't hand over her wages right there, he would take her home and "strip me down until he got the money," she testified.

The woman said Morin then grabbed her wallet, stole her cash and promised he'd be back at the club every night to collect her earnings.

He then dropped her off at Wassill's house in Orléans, the woman said.

"I was crying hysterically and could barely speak," she told court.

'They were going to protect me'

The woman testified that Wassill and his friends planned to invite Morin over to the house, where they would confront him and demand he leave her alone.

At no point, she said, did they plan to physically harm Morin.

"They were going to protect me, no matter what," the woman testified. "I felt protected by my friends, and I felt safe."

The woman's testimony is expected to continue Friday.