Family and friends show support for Rob Sampson, accused of killing mother of 5
Warning: Some readers may find the details in this article disturbing.
The trial of Rob Sampson, the former boyfriend of Tracy Reid, a mother of five who was found dead outside her home in Orillia in 2019, continues to unfold as family and longtime friends gather to show support for the accused killer.
"I don't believe it happened," said Sampson family friend Gerry Floyd. "I just can't imagine Rob partaking in such a brutal act."
Reid's lifeless body was found under some bushes outside the Silver Swan Villa Motel in Orillia in July 2019, where she lived with Sampson.
The Crown alleges the 45-year-old woman died after 60 blunt force injuries, primarily to her face and neck.
On Tuesday, Floyd, Sampson's father, Don, and other supporters sat in the Barrie courtroom as the Crown called on two more witnesses, including Wendy Stafford-Everett, who testified she often partied with Reid.
The witness told the court she, her partner Trevor Griffiths, and Reid often smoked crack cocaine together.
Stafford-Everett testified she and Griffiths often accompanied Reid to an ATM to get money to buy crack, saying, "She wanted someone with her because she was afraid of Rob," adding, "Rob wanted her money."
The defence suggested the witness and her partner followed Reid to the bank because she owed Griffiths money.
Tracy Reid is pictured in this undated photo. (Source: Facebook)
The court also heard forensic evidence testimony and was shown pictures and video of the unit where Reid lived on and off with Sampson for about a year before her death, to which the defence spent the afternoon questioning the witness about why certain evidence wasn't collected at the scene by police.
While Sampson's supporters are hopeful he will be exonerated, the defence maintains someone else took Reid's life and that Sampson has been falsely accused of first-degree murder.
Rob Sampson, 58, of Orillia, Ont., sits in the Barrie courtroom on trial for the murder of Tracy Reid in July 2019. (Court Sketch: Linda Laforge)
On Wednesday, the Crown is expected to call a man to the witness stand who knew Reid and Sampson.
The allegations against the accused have not been tested in court.
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