The brother of a Clearview Township woman, who was shot to death in 2013, took the stand on Tuesday at the trial of her husband.
Dr. Eric Balser – the brother of Deena Brooks – told the court he consoled his sister and her husband, Mitchell Brooks, before her death.
Balser testified that at one point, his brother-in-law confided in him about their marital troubles, telling him by text that "Deena has always been the love of my life. I don't want us to give up."
Brooks also told him, "Everything is spiraling down. My life is falling apart."
Deena Brooks was shot to death at her home in New Lowell in 2013.
The Crown contends that Brooks killed his wife in a deliberate act after she told him she wanted to leave him.
Brooks initially said he and his wife were having an argument over a handgun when Deena was shot. He also told police he meant to kill himself.
Balser told the jury he stopped texting Brooks when his version of events didn't match what Deena told him weeks before she died.
"I spoke to my sister and what she told me is clear that Mitchell wasn't being completely honest with me," he said. “She told me he threatened financial ruin if she went forward with the break up."
"She told me Mitchell was acting depressed, withdrawn and very angry. She said he would respond in anger to seemingly inconsequential matters."
On the night before she was shot, Deena Brooks texted her sister-in-law, Jane Brooks, to tell her the bank had just approved her for a loan to buy her husband out of the house.
In cross-examination, defence lawyer Kim Miles asked the sister-in-law if she has ever seen Brooks angry. She said no and described the Brooks family as a happy one.
The defence also asked her if she was aware that Deena was having an affair, to which Jane Brooks replied "no."
The trial is expected to last at least a few more weeks.
