reporter: the prosecution believed its evidence against curtis was overwhelming. not so fast, said the defense. that s because it had some things up its sleeve. a new piece of last-minute evidence. and what an interesting nugget they had found. coming up tough questions for erika. someone made that up. someone put those words in there my signature should be there, anybody can redo this. and bombshell testimony. did you know when you decided to pursue this investigation that the arms had been moved? i did not. i did not
drinking at a party. and later that night, he blurted out something she found disturbing. he s rarely honest except for when he s been drinking. and he was upset about something, and i asked him what he was upset about and he stated something about. she was writhing underneath me and then he said, oh, the black cat. reporter: as strange as that story sounded, the prosecutor took it to mean this. curtis wasn t talking about a cat, but about cory s last minutes of life, as she struggled while curtis smothered her. erika had a story to tell. there s one particular quote that came out and he says, i could hear her writhing beneath me. yes. that was evidence. she gave and it sounds as though he s talking about killing his wife at that moment. that s what we thought it sounded like, and she testified to that under oath on the stand that i could feel her writhing beneath me. and that s pretty much what would ve happened if suffocation was occurring.
trial? it was. i did a battery criminal defense case right out of law school. other than that, this is basically my first criminal defense case. curtis was taking a huge gamble. on the other hand, since he was broke, he didn t have a lot of options. cory died of massive liver disease. in his opening remarks, he said the state hadn t presented any evidence of murder for one reason, there was no murder. medical evidence will prove to you that she died as a result of an acute sudden onset condition brought on by her alcoholism. one of the defense s key goals was to debunk the damaging testimony of curtis s ex, erika, he had violently attacked her and ripped her shirt. one of the first defense witnesses was major larry fuller with the illinois national guard. i asked her if she wanted to make a sworn statement, a formal sworn statement in writing. she said, yes, she would. erica filed a domestic violence charge with the guard since curtis at the time was still active.
I didn’t want to be alone : How COVID-19 increased isolation for Calgarians with developmental disabilities Those with developmental or intellectual disabilities are significantly more vulnerable to infection and severe illness from the coronavirus meaning the necessity of increased precautions, no matter how heartbreaking
Author of the article: Sammy Hudes
Publishing date: Mar 16, 2021 • March 19, 2021 • 5 minute read • Anne McWhir and David Oakleaf stand with their son Stephen near their northwest Calgary home on Wednesday, March 3, 2021. Stephen, who has Down syndrome, spoke about his experience dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic over the past year. Gavin Young/Postmedia
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On March 15, 2020, with COVID-19 cases rising, the City of Calgary declared a state of local emergency, forcing the immediate closure of most non-essential businesses and services.
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