Accused offered ‘boldfaced lie' to police
Yukon Supreme Court Justice Leigh Gower has heard diverging accounts of an incident involving a stabbing, this week.
Yukon Supreme Court Justice Leigh Gower has heard diverging accounts of an incident involving a stabbing, this week.
Douglas Allen, now 19, stands charged with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon in relation to the incident, and his mother, Heather Allen, 39, is facing charges of assault and aiding and abetting an assault.
The charges come after the events of Oct. 18, 2008, which left Allan Bullers, 38, Heather's ex-boyfriend, with a stab wound in his back, a partially collapsed lung, and bruises on his face.
Earlier this week, Bullers told the court how he remembered that night nearly two years ago. But the details of Heather's account of the occasion tell a different story.
Both agree their night together began when Heather called Bullers at around 11:30 p.m. on Oct. 17.
She asked him to leave his residence in Porter Creek to come to her Riverdale home, pick up her bank card and buy some beer for her.
Bullers did so and returned to the Riverdale residence at just after midnight on Oct. 18.
Because he had to work early the next day, Bullers immediately headed upstairs to the bedroom, where he fell asleep.
He was awakened some time later when Heather came into the room and knocked a cup of juice onto the floor.
Soon after, Heather's cell phone rang. It was her son, Douglas, inquiring whether Bullers was in the house with her.
She denied Bullers' presence.
At this point, the stories of the former couple continue down separate paths.
Earlier this week, Bullers testified he could hear much of the phone conversation on both ends. He said he heard Douglas say, "If he's up there, I'm coming up there.”
On Thursday, Heather testified that Douglas told her, "If he's in there, don't lie to me.”
After Heather hung up the phone, Bullers asked if it was Douglas on the other end, but she wouldn't confirm she had just been speaking to her son.
Both parties agree that Bullers then attempted to grab the phone, which Heather was holding in her hand.
Yesterday, Heather testified that Bullers grabbed her by her injured wrist, then her leg. The two struggled for a moment until Heather fell off the bed, with the phone in hand, and began to yell for Bullers to "get the f--- out of my house!”
Bullers testified he did manage to snatch the phone from Heather without grabbing hold of her, but after he did, she hit him on the side of the head. He was left with a large bruise, which is documented with photographs.
Bullers said he proceeded to look at the phone while Heather yelled at him.
At this point, Heather opened the bedroom door to find Douglas standing there.
Heather testified Thursday that she was startled to see Douglas there, so she took a step back and Douglas ran past her. With tears in her eyes, she told her son, "Get him out.”
Bullers heard her say, "He's right there. Get him, Douglas.”
Douglas then went over to Bullers, who was sitting on the end of the bed, and kicked him in the chest area.
Shortly after, Bullers rose from the bed.
Bullers testified he asked Douglas, "Do you really want to do this?” but Heather said she heard him say, "You wanna go, Douglas?”
According to Bullers, Douglas then came at him, so he grabbed his shirt and threw Douglas on the bed and the two began throwing punches. Bullers said Heather hit him in the back while yelling at him to get off her son.
According to Heather, Douglas landed on the bed after Bullers issued him a blow. Bullers punched Douglas while the then-18-year-old covered his face with his arm.
"I started screaming at Allan to get off my son,” she said, adding that she never hit Bullers.
Heather testified she could hear her son say, "Stop it! Get off of me!” and then, "Stop it, Allan, or I'm going to stab you!”
Bullers said Douglas said nothing during their brawl, and he was unaware Douglas had a knife.
Moments into the fight, Bullers was stabbed.
At that time Bullers fell on top of Douglas, and Douglas kneed him in the side of the head as he was struggling to get out from underneath the 175-lb. man, the court heard.
Soon after, Heather pulled the knife out of Bullers' back, and he ran outside to call the police. Heather also called the police.
Throughout her trial, Crown counsel Noel Sinclair pointed out that some of what Heather told the court Thursday did not match up with the statements she gave on the morning of Oct. 18.
She told RCMP officers and a 911 operator that Bullers had broken into her home.
Heather testified that she was distraught at the time she gave those statements and she wanted to protect her son.
She said, "I was afraid. Not for myself, but...”
"For your son?” asked Sinclair.
"Yes,” she responded.
Sinclair called Heather's comments to the officers and the 911 operator "a boldfaced lie.”
She responded, "You're right. It wasn't true.”
Heather added that the situation was "terrible” and she wasn't thinking as clearly at the time she gave her statements as she was later.
The trial continued today.
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