Husband of Andrea Giesbrecht, accused of concealing infant remains, to testify this week
WARNING: This story contains graphic information
The husband of Andrea Giesbrecht, a Winnipeg woman accused of concealing the remains of six infants in a U-Haul storage locker, is expected to testify this week.
Jeremy Giesbrecht, the accused's husband, is also the biological father of all infants whose remains were found, according to testimony from forensic biologist Christine Crossman.
Giesbrecht's trial, which has been on pause since late April due to scheduling conflicts, resumes on Monday.
On April 22 — the last day of the trial before the brief hiatus — court heard testimony from Danielle Devereaux, who met Giesbrecht, 42, in 1996. The women worked together until 2000 in the filing department at Pioneer Grain in downtown Winnipeg.
Devereaux, who was around 18 when she met Giesbrecht, described her as a "good friend," saying they made jokes on their way to McPhillips Station Casino on lunch breaks.
She testified at the judge-only trial that Giesbrecht became worried when she learned she was pregnant in 1997.
She did not tell her husband, Jeremy Giesbrecht, her parents or anyone else at work that she was expecting a baby until after she drove herself to a hospital and gave birth, according to Devereaux.
"She said if she hadn't told her parents and Jeremy that she had the baby, she would have given the baby up for adoption," Devereaux told court.
Winnipeg police Det. Edward Chalmers, who arrested Giesbrecht on Oct. 20, 2014, testified after Devereaux.
Chalmers and three other officers from the police service's child abuse unit went to Giesbrecht's home at 10:37 p.m., hours after the discovery of the remains, which were found in various states of decomposition.
At the home, Jeremy Giesbrecht answered the door.
Chalmers told the court that he asked Jeremy when his wife had been pregnant and whether he knew she had rented a storage locker. The officer was not allowed to testify on the answers he received, as doing so would be hearsay.
The trial is scheduled to start on Monday morning in provincial court in Winnipeg.
with files from Caroline Barghout