It was a very emotional day in a Barrie courtroom, where the daughter of a woman who was shot to death, took the stand at her father’s trial.
Kristin Brooks, 20, wept in court on Friday, as she took the stand and delivered testimony at the first-degree murder trial of her father, Mitchell Brooks.
"Dad was very sad. He would cry all the time,” she said. “I would try to comfort him, and rub his back just to comfort him."
Brooks broke down several times throughout the day, as she told the court about her family, saying they were involved in outdoor activities like competitive mountain biking. Brooks also told the court about her close relationship with her father.
The Crown is arguing that Mitchell Brooks shot and killed his wife, Deena Brooks, because she was going to leave him. Deena Brooks was shot and killed in her New Lowell home in May 2013.
"This was an intentional shooting by an angry husband unwilling to let this marriage go," said Crown attorney Mary Ann Alexander. "Deena was both forcibly and physically confronted in that foyer at gunpoint by Mr. Brooks."
Brooks testified that she knew nothing about five handguns that were hidden in her father's workshop, including the handgun found in the foyer the night of her mother’s death.
Brooks, who now lives in British Columbia, told the court she was worried about her dad before the shooting, saying "I told mom I thought he was going to kill himself” and "if you knew how depressed he was, he would only ever hurt himself."
The defence lawyer asked Brooks, "Did your thoughts about your dad killing himself ever go away?" Brooks replied, "No. Never. They are still there today." However, The Crown contends Mitchell Brooks was not suicidal.
As she left the court, Brooks looked at her dad in the prisoner's box and wept as she walked out. The six week-long trial is expected to resume Monday morning.
