In court Thursday, Stacey Worsfold was questioned by the woman accused of bludgeoning and stabbing her father to death.
Accused killer Beryl Musila, self-representing in her trial for first-degree murder in the July 7, 2017 death of St. Albert senior Ron Worsfold, conducted her first cross-examination of the prosecution’s first witness.
The questions were directed at Stacey Worsfold’s testimony about a confrontation on July 8, 2017, when she arrived at her father's apartment looking for him.
In earlier testimony, Stacey Worsfold told Crown prosecutor Patricia Hankinson that Musila told her through a window that she and Ron Worsfold had had an argument, and that he went for a walk—and that she was cleaning the apartment.
Alerted by signs that signalled something was off, Stacey Worsfold said she parked in the parking lot, blocking Musila’s effort to leave in Ron Worsfold’s car.
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In her cross-examination, Musila said Stacey Worsfold was insisting that she leave the residence when Musila’s friend Rob Rafters came to the apartment.
Musila asked Stacey Worsfold why she didn’t attempt to enter her father’s suite at that point.
“I was trying to be respectful and not escalate,” Stacey Worsfold replied.
“I just wanted you gone.”
Musila asked her if she asked her father’s neighbours for help.
“As stated, it was a civil matter. I was expecting my dad to walk up or you to expediently leave the suite,” Ms. Worsfold said.
Musila asked the victim’s daughter about when Musila showed resistance to leaving the apartment.
“I wasn’t leaving until you were gone or my dad returned and said you could stay,” Stacey Worsfold responded.
When Musila suggested Stacey Worsfold didn’t actually ask Musila to be let in the building, Stacey Worsfold was firm.
"That would be a lie," she replied.
Musila also asked the victim’s daughter why she didn’t call the police.
“You said you called police,” Stacey Worsfold responded.
In earlier testimony before a jury of nine women and three men, with two alternates, Stacey Worsfold said that on that Saturday of July 8, 2017, Musila accused her of harassment and intimidation and said she’d called the police.
Stacey Worsfold was at the site when she observed Musila leaving in a taxi van with a heavy, oversized blue tote, a black suitcase, and a number of other containers.
An RCMP forensics expert testified Thursday about a series of pictures showing totes, a black suitcase, and other containers that turned up near the second crime scene, at a property in rural Parkland County.
Sgt. Nolan Losness, a 31-year veteran of the RCMP and senior forensic identification specialist testified that he attended the scene to take photographs, describing details of 72 photos at the home that was near the makeshift dump site.
Among the contents, there were several clothing items, Losness said, along with red-stained scissors, a pillow with a large red stain, red-stained pillowcases and two rubber totes.
Losness also found a blue recycling box, another rubber tote with duct tape, a black suitcase, a bath mat with duct tape with red stains and half a set of false teeth/dentures, a blue sheet with red stains, a kitchen knife, a separate black knife handle, a stained dishcloth. Two red-stained towels, towels stained with red and yellow, and a facecloth with red and yellow stains were also found.
There was a pair of scissors with carpet fibers in them. along with a square cut-out chunk of red-stained carpet, which had a slight reflection because it was still wet, Losness said.
In the stuff, there were also envelopes addressed to Beryl Musila, Losness testified.
In her opening statement, Crown prosecutor Patricia Hankinson said a party at the rural home was the last of several stops Musila made on July 8 after leaving Ron Worsfold’s home in a loaded taxi van.
On July 9, 2017, Ron Worsfold’s body was found in a large four-foot-by-two-foot blue Rubbermaid tote nearby at a makeshift dump site.
On Tuesday, Musila pleaded guilty to the charge of indecently interfering with Ron Worsfold’s remains. She pleaded not guilty to the charge of first-degree murder in his death.
Functioning as her own counsel is Musila’s constitutional right, Justice Ackerl said. Amicus attorney Greg Worobec remains on hand, not as her attorney, but to ensure a fair trial.
Testimony continues Friday at 9:30 a.m. in Justice Larry Ackerl’s courtroom at the Court of King’s Bench in Edmonton. The trial is expected to go for at least five more weeks.
