As Deborah Louise Point was being handcuffed and escorted from a Calgary courtroom, the convicted murderer winked at her girlfriend, who was among the spectators at yesterday's stomach-turning sentencing hearing into the death and dismemberment of another woman.
Crown prosecutor Mark Krotter described Ms. Point as a "cold and dangerous person" who perpetrated "one of the most gruesome and horrible crimes one can imagine" in the killing of her former roommate.
He urged the Court of Queen's Bench to impose the maximum penalty of 25 years without parole on Ms. Point, 40, who was convicted in November of second-degree murder in the February, 1999, death of Audrey Trudeau.
The case has all the elements of a seedy film noir -- an alleged lesbian affair and a butchered body left to decompose in a friend's garage.
Mr. Krotter described Ms. Trudeau as a person whose life was devoted to helping others and who offered Ms. Point, her long-time friend, a place to stay.
Ms. Point, he said, took advantage of that kindness and stole Ms. Trudeau's money, forged cheques in Ms. Trudeau's name and ultimately, during a confrontation over the missing cash, crushed Ms. Trudeau's skull with a small sharp object, likely a hatchet, which has never been found.
Ms. Trudeau, who had just one cut on her hand in self-defence, was likely approached from behind and bludgeoned, said Mr. Kotter to illustrate, in his words, the vicious and reprehensible nature of the attack.
He reminded Madam Justice Suzanne Bensler, who had sat through about six weeks of testimony at trial, how Ms. Point chopped up Ms. Trudeau body "like a piece of meat." Her body parts were stuffed in three layers of garbage bags, packaged in cardboard boxes, covered with mothballs and then sealed with duct tape before finally being stashed in a friend's southwest Calgary garage.
It wasn't until July 21, 1999, almost five months after Ms. Trudeau's disappearance that a group of teenagers stumbled upon three boxes containing her decaying body. One held Ms. Trudeau's head and torso, another held her severed limbs, and a third contained a blood-soaked comforter from her condominium where police say she was killed.
Ms. Point was arrested the next day, but has always maintained her innocence. Her parents, as well as some friends, have stood by her and have reportedly vowed to appeal the conviction.
Ms. Point's lawyer, Alain Hepner, told reporters outside the court a decision to appeal the case won't be made until after sentence is imposed.
Judge Bensler has reserved sentencing until tomorrow.
The Crown maintained Ms. Point has shown no remorse in the death of her friend and has indeed "tortured" the dead woman's friends and family by first denying Ms. Trudeau a proper burial and then by besmirching the dead woman's reputation with made-up stories.
Ms. Trudeau was last seen alive on Feb. 25, 1999. The next day would have been her last day at Rockyview Hospital. She put her condo up for sale and planned to start a new job in March at a hospital in Kitchener, Ont., which was closer to her family and in the province of her birth.
During the trial, Ms. Point said the two women had a romantic relationship -- something Ms. Trudeau's family, which includes 11 siblings, vehemently deny.
Ms. Point admitted to forging cheques, in part to fuel her overwhelming addiction to video lottery terminals, on which she lost thousands of dollars.
But her lawyer argued that 12 to 15 years without parole would be appropriate in the case.
Mr. Hepner urged the court to consider only the actual killing rather than focus on the postmurder conduct involved in the offence. He also likened the case to a "type of domestic violence," which demands a lighter sentence than the Crown and the jury recommended.
The jury suggested Ms. Point serve 20 years before being eligible for parole.
"This is a tragedy of enormous proportions for everyone involved," Mr. Hepner told the court.