Former brother-in-law testifies Badgerow's voice was on 911 call

A retired homicide detective with the Hamilton police force testified in the first-degree murder trial of Robert Badgerow that he recognized Badgerow's voice on a 911 call when he heard it the day after Badgerow was arrested and charged in the murder of Diane Werendowicz.

Randy Kovacsik testified that not only had he known Badgerow since they were 11 years old and played on various baseball teams until their twenties, but that Badgerow was married to Kovacsik's sister. They spent time together at family gatherings and Kovacsik was also renting a unit the couple owned.

The defence attorney's questioning centred around Kovacsik and Badergow's relationship, changes in technology since the 911 call was first recorded, and the day the retired officer discovered he may be a potential witness in the case.

'Jumble of emotions'

Kovacsik says he heard the call for the first time on December 2,1998. He says he was in shock and didn't tell the investigating officers that he believed it was Badgerow.

Defence attorney Russell Silverstein questioned why Kovacsik waited a day to speak to police and tell them that he thought it was Badgerow's voice.

"A lot of things were going through my mind," Kovacsik said. "It was a jumble of emotions."

Speed and pitch of audio questioned

The 911 call was played twice Friday in court on both a CD player and a reel-to-reel tape machine, methods that were both questioned by the defence as to the accuracy of the speed and pitch the machines were playing.

"What did you really listen to? Was the recording was faster, slower, the same?" defence lawyer Russell Silverstein asked.

The jury also heard from the witness that Badgerow had issues with his voice and had sought medical help.

Since the trial started, 26 witnesses have testified out of a list of 120 potential witnesses that could be called. Court is adjourned until Thursday, October 13th to recognize Thanksgiving and Yom Kippur.