Daughter found bodies after three days of calls, court hears

Debbie Mowat told Greg Despres's first-degree murder trial that she went to her father's home on Slope Road in Minto after three days of unanswered phone callsand found his beheaded body under a blanket on the kitchen floor.

Mowattestified on Wednesday afternoon, the third day of the trial, which has so far heard from police officers and neighbours about the deaths of both her father, Fred Fulton, 74, and his wife, Verna Decarie, 70.

Despres, 24, is accused of fatally stabbing and beheading Fulton, and stabbing Decarie to death on April 23, 2005, three days before Mowat discovered their bodies. He lived next door to the couple and has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder.

Judge Judy Clendenning allowed Mowat, a house cleaner who lives a five-minute drive from her father's home, to give evidence in front of a closed-circuit camera hooked up in a separate room, with a video monitor broadcasting her testimony to the courtroom.

Mowat remains traumatized by what she witnessed on April 26, 2005, and was accompanied by a victim services counsellor during her testimony.

She told the court that she last saw her father on the evening of Friday, April 22, when she and her husband,along withher son and his girlfriend, visited the Fulton-Decarie home for a few games of cards and drinks.

Shetestified that she called her father'shome on Sunday, April 24,around 2:30 p.m., to ask if Fulton would come over to her house and play music. Fulton was a well-known country musician and gifted guitarist. She said nobody answered the phone.

She called again on Monday, April 25, at 3:30 p.m., but again, nobody answered. Finally, on Tuesday, April 26, Mowat testified that she came home from work and called again to no avail. That's when she got in the carand droveto their home, stopping to buy coffee for herself and Decarie on the way.

Mowatdidn't see their car in the driveway, so left the coffee inher car and walked to the back door to see if the couple was home. She told the court she saw blood on the door, pushed it open and saw more blood in the kitchen and her father on the floor, minus his head.

"He was laying in front of the washer and dryer," she said.

"I got up screaming and I run towards the room to see where Verna was and then I got scared and run out."

Mowat said she doesn't remember much after that, even though her neighbour testified earlier on Wednesday that he heard her screaming outside, and ran out to be with her, calling 911 on his cordless phone on the way out the door.

She said she recalled driving to her house to get her husband, who was outside in the yard, and then immediately returned to her father's home.

Mowat added that she was supposed to clean her father's home that week,something she didevery two weeks for the elderly couple.