The fate of the man accused of slaying a Winnipeg grandfather, and hiding his body in deep bush south of the city, will hinge on the testimony of a woman who stole the victim’s debit card.
Aaron Mousseau Abigosis, 43, was arrested in August 2022 and charged with first-degree murder for the Aug. 3 death of Bud Paul, after a lengthy RCMP probe that involved the help of other police agencies.
Janine Atkinson, who the Crown alleges was present with Mousseau Abigosis when 56-year-old Paul died, has been granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for her testimony, which is scheduled for next week.
A trapper found Bud Paul’s body in the bush, about three kilometres north of Roseau River First Nation in August 2020. (RCMP Handout)
“Ms. Atkinson has quite a criminal record. In fact, she’s done some pretty bad things in her life,” Crown attorney Mike Himmelman told court Monday, the first day of the trial. He told jurors they must assess the truthfulness of her testimony by comparing it with other evidence that will be called during the five-week proceeding.
Himmelman told court that Mousseau Abigosis severely beat Paul, drove down a dead-end gravel road outside Roseau River First Nation, where he dragged Paul into the bush and used a blade to inflict more injuries.
“We say that constitutes murder,” said Himmelman. “Because the killing was planned and deliberate, we the Crown, say that he is guilty of first-degree murder.”
Paul had fractured ribs and broken dentures; the pathologist was unable to determine the cause of death because his body was too decomposed.
Paul had stopped showing up for work, at a Winnipeg furniture store, in early August 2020. A co-worker asked city police to conduct a wellness check on Aug. 7, after she wasn’t able to reach Paul by phone.
Three days later, his burned-out vehicle was found on Queen Street near Polo Park mall. RCMP determined he had gone to a liquor store in Neepawa, 180 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, on Aug. 1, where surveillance video showed he had been accompanied by two people.
A trapper found Paul’s body in the bush, about three kilometres north of Roseau River First Nation, the day after his car was found torched in the city. The trapper called the Manitoba First Nations Police Service, which alerted the RCMP.
Himmelman did not hint at the motive for the slaying as he outlined the case, but said Atkinson will testify about how Paul was killed.
“Ms. Atkinson has this information because, put simply, she was present with the accused when he killed the deceased,” Himmelman told jurors. “After Bud Paul was killed, she used the deceased’s stolen bank card.”
Himmelman warned jurors to approach Atkinson’s evidence with caution, given her background and her involvement in the slaying, but said she’s in a unique position to explain what happened.
The trial in the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench began with testimony from Lindsay Scott, who was a civilian forensic investigations assistant for the RCMP in 2020. She photographed the area where the body was found and searched for evidence.
She testified Paul was virtually naked.
Defence lawyer Andrew McKelvey-Gunson questioned Scott about blood trace testing she had conducted on Paul’s burned-out vehicle and on items of clothing that were found within it, including a woman’s fleece jacket and an extra large hoodie.
Scott said presumptive blood was found on the woman’s jacket, but not on the hoodie, while no blood traces were found in the vehicle. She confirmed no traces of blood were found on the path to where Paul’s remains were located, nor on the road adjacent to it.
The trapper who found Paul’s body was scheduled to testify Monday afternoon, but wasn’t able to because of a medical issue. Prosecutor David Gilleta then called the Manitoba First Nations Police Service officer who responded to the scene to testify.
Const. Tony Kiemele, who is now an RCMP officer, told court he picked up the trapper to get directions to the scene in the afternoon of Aug. 3, 2020.
He found Paul’s remains about 10 metres west from the gravel road in dense brush after arriving at around 1:15 p.m. and advised his inspector that the death appeared suspicious, then secured the scene.
The minimum penalty for a first-degree murder conviction is life with no chance of parole for 25 years.
erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca
Erik Pindera
Reporter
Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik.
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