In the months and weeks before Deena Brooks was shot to death, she confided in co-workers and friends about her troubled marriage.
Friend and colleague Faye Dempster told the jury on Friday that Deena, "Was very afraid of her husband’s anger."
After telling him she wanted to end the marriage, the jury heard the couple attempted counseling but that Deena wanted a divorce.
Her husband, Mitchell Brooks, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. The Crown is arguing he shot Deena deliberately.
Dempster also testified that although Brooks wanted to make the marriage work, Deena expressed concern that he would commit suicide.
She also said Deena was worried her husband had stopped taking his medication. She didn't specify what it was for, but said it wasn't the first time.
"It made him very angry, unpredictable... she was afraid it was happening again," Dempster told the jury.
One of Deena's co-workers from Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre told the jury, Deena spoke with her about the trouble with her marriage just weeks before she died.
According to Krystal Deschamps, Deena said Brooks, “Wasn't dealing with it very well" and he was, “all over the place emotionally."
Deena told her that, "Life was difficult at home."
Deschamps said Deena had financial concerns and was a given choice by Brooks, "Pretend this never happened, or he was going to take her for all she's worth."
During the defence's cross examination both witnesses testified that Brooks never expressed concern about her husband harming her. The defence also asked Dempster if she knew that Deena was having an affair.
Dempster said she wasn't aware.
