When the battered body of Nina Louise Courtepatte was found deserted on the fairway of an Edmonton-area golf course, the aboriginal teenager's face and scalp had been cut 15 times and were unrecognizable.
RCMP videotape of the crime scene and the body of the 13-year-old aspiring model and dancer reduced some to tears yesterday, as the trial for two men accused of killing her, Michael Briscoe, 36, and Joseph Laboucan, 21, began in an Edmonton courtroom.
At least two people, including Nina Louise's older brother, fled the courtroom until the videotape concluded.
In total, five people, including three juveniles (two females, one male), were charged with kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault and first-degree murder in connection with Nina Louise's death.
Police allege that the premeditated sex slaying occurred on or around April 3, 2005.
The teenager's body, which was clothed in a black hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans, was found by staff at the Edmonton Springs Golf Course a day later.
Last month, one person accused of killing the girl, a 19-year-old male, pleaded guilty to the charges.
The man, who cannot be identified because he was 17 and a young offender when the slaying occurred, will be sentenced in April.
According to the agreed statement of facts from his case, it's alleged the group planned to kill someone and randomly selected their victim -- Nina Louise -- out of a crowd at the popular West Edmonton Mall.
Nina Louise, who was 5 foot 3 and 112 pounds, and a female friend were eventually lured to the golf course with promises the group were going to attend a rave, the documents said.
According to those documents, which have not been proven and aren't evidence in the other trials, Nina Louise was raped twice before being stabbed and beaten with scissors, a wrench and a metal sledgehammer.
One cut on the girl's face was so deep that it exposed her skull. An autopsy report revealed Nina Louise died of blunt force trauma to the head.
Nina Louise's friend was kept waiting in a 1991 Ford Escort owned by Mr. Briscoe and was later returned to Edmonton unhurt, the documents said.
They also said that, while she knew her friend had been attacked, she was not told about the killing. However, before being released, she was allegedly told by Mr. Laboucan that the Grade 7 student was picked out of the crowd because she was the "chosen one."
During yesterday's proceedings, Mr. Laboucan, who was dressed in a blue-jean shirt, was expressionless. However, the stocky brown-haired man did drop his head when the RCMP videotape of the bloody crime scene was shown.
Mr. Briscoe, who sat a short distance from him in the prisoner's box, carefully watched all the proceedings, often making notes.
The pair are the first to go to trial in the shocking sex crime. Trials for the two young female are scheduled for March and May.
Forensics expert Corporal Sharon Smith testified yesterday that it appeared Nina Louise's body had likely been dragged a short distance because her clothing was bunched.
Cpl. Smith said that investigators found several items near Nina Louise's body, including blue-handled pliers, coins, a sucker stick and cigarette butt.
A patch of blood-stained grass was also found a few metres away from the girl's body.
Cpl. Smith also testified that evidence was seized from Mr. Briscoe's Edmonton motel room and vehicle, including tools such as a ratchet wrench, a black-handled hammer and a crowbar.
During pretrial proceedings last week, Court of Queen's Bench Mr. Justice Brian Burrows was shown a police video in which Mr. Briscoe described details of the crime.Mr. Briscoe told officers during the interview that he never hurt Nina Louise and that Mr. Laboucan was the ringleader. He also said that he witnessed Mr. Laboucan and the male youth rape the brown-haired teenager before the then-17-year-old male hit Nina Louise with a sledgehammer.
The judge still hasn't ruled whether Mr. Briscoe's police interview will be admissible as evidence during the trial, which is expected to last six weeks.
Mr. Laboucan and Mr. Briscoe's trial was originally supposed to proceed with a jury, but the two men's lawyers successfully lobbied against that earlier this month. The defence lawyers were concerned that pretrial publicity would hurt their client's case. Crown prosecutor Anne Schutte eventually consented to the request.