Deborah Belyea murder trial verdict delayed for two weeks after court hears closing arguments

RCMP officers, forensics experts and a medical examiner detailed how Belyea allegedly stabbed Alfred to death in their residence, removed his arms and stuffed his body in a garbage bin she left on a rural property in Piapot, Sask., over Thanksgiving weekend in 2021.

The defense counsel asked for a delay Tuesday after the Crown rested in the morning. However, following a lunch break, court was paused until Wednesday.

The defense did not call any witnesses Wednesday morning despite anticipation there would be at least one, meaning the trial moved onto closing statements.

The prosecution wrapped up its closing arguments shortly after 11 a.m. in an hour-long summary of the evidence.

Crown lawyers are required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that an accused defendant committed murder.

DNA evidence places Belyea at the depreciated Piapot property where her husband’s body was found.

A note Belyea wrote to her daughters included a map to that rural property.

The accused also asked a friend to throw out a bag of bloody female clothes that forensics linked to Belyea.

Belyea was arrested Oct. 16, eight days after Alfred, 72 at the time of his death, was last heard from.

Belyea was seen in tears after court took a short break following the Crown’s final arguments.

With no witnesses, lawyer Katherine Beyak’s defense of Belyea came through cross-examination and Wednesday’s closing argument.

Both focused on highlighting Belyea’s physical condition and tried to raise doubts over the methods used by investigating officers and the medical examiner.

The accused has used assistive oxygen breathing devices off and on since 2009 and suffered a stroke over 20 years ago that impacted her longterm health, according to family members and a former co-worker that testified.

In Beyak’s closing argument, she focused on framing the Crown’s approach as largely based on circumstantial evidence — evidence not drawn from direct observation, such as blood detection techniques.

Alfred told his wife on the Friday before he was reported missing that we would not be home over the weekend, according to Belyea.

The accused left a light on and she found it off Sunday morning, suggesting that her husband dropped by during the night, Belyea told police in 2021.

After her daughters started asking about the whereabouts of their father and saying they wanted to report him missing, Belyea on Oct. 13 filed a missing persons case with the RCMP.

Belyea plead not guilty to a count of second-degree murder and a charge of treating a deceased person’s body in an undignified matter.

by Eli J. Ridder | @EliRidder

Deborah Belyea murder trial verdict delayed for two weeks after court hears closing arguments

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