deadmonton 2005 - nina louise courtepatte - the "cindy" trial
march 14th, 2007

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Nina Louise Courtepatte, 13, died from blunt force trauma on April 3rd, 2005.


Two adults and three teens, not identified by provision of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, were charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault.


Cindy, now 19, was Michael Briscoe's girlfriend and she already testified as a Crown witness at his trial.


One male teen, nicknamed "Pyro," pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on December 8th, 2006. He was to be sentenced as an adult in April 2007. Pyro's girlfriend, nicknamed "Buffy," had a trial date set for May 1st, 2007.


<< march 13th, 2007 | the "cindy" trial | march 20th, 2007 >>



The trial of a female young-offender accused of killing Nina Courtepatte continued with testimony from the victim's friend.


Referred to as Jane Doe in this narrative, she and Nina were hanging out at a West Edmonton Mall food court when Cindy and Joseph Laboucan approached them with an invitation to a bush party.


Jane's testimony reflected what she told the court at the Briscoe-Laboucan trial on January 25th, 2007.


She repeated that she saw Cindy strike Nina with a wrench, and that Nina looked to Joseph Laboucan for help.


Instead, Laboucan whispered something in Nina's ear that caused her to plead, "Why would you do this? Why are you doing this?"


On the stand for Cindy's trial, Jane said she blacked out at that point and the next thing she recalled was being led away by the accused back to Michael Briscoe's car.


When the others had returned from the golf course without Nina, Jane said she noticed Laboucan's hands and arms were covered in blood.


Jane testified that Laboucan then told her that he would "put her in a ditch" if she talked about what happened.



The court also heard testimony from Jane's mother, who may have been the first to conclude the battered body found on the golf course might have been that of Courtepatte.


In the early days of the investigation, RCMP were not sure of the identity of the victim or her age. Initial reports had police thinking she was 16.


At the time, Peacha Atkinson thought her daughter Nina was safe and staying with Jane. Meantime, Jane hadn't been home for a few days.


Jane's mother broke down repeatedly on the stand recalling how she put the pieces together, that the girl whose body was found on the golf course might be Nina Courtepatte.


The woman and Jane's aunt staked out West Edmonton Mall and eventually spotted Jane with Pyro's girlfriend Buffy near The Brick furniture store.


The women pulled Jane onto a couch and showed her a newspaper story about a young aboriginal girl who had been found dead. Jane confirmed that the story was about Nina.


Jane's mother then confronted Buffy, who she described as arrogant and with an attitude.


“I got really pissed off and wanted to beat the crap out of her,” she said.


Jane's mother flagged down a police officer in the mall to tell them of what she heard. Jane put up such a struggle it caused her to be handcuffed.



The trial continued March 20th, 2007