Woman accused in Waywayseecappo stabbing death granted bail

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This article was published 29/07/2023 (1145 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A woman charged in the connection with the stabbing death of a 23-year-old man during a house party in Waywayseecappo First Nation in July has been released on bail with a plan to live in Brandon.

Talisa Brandon, 25, appeared in court Friday morning to make bid for her release while her charges work their way through the court system. Brandon is facing charges of manslaughter and aggravated assault for the death of Tristen Beaulieu, who was stabbed multiple times.

Crown attorney Melania Cannon read the evidence for the charges in court.

The charges against Brandon have not been proven in court and she remains innocent until proven guilty.

On July 5, 2023, 10 people were drinking at a house party in Waywayseecappo. As the party became rowdy, the homeowner asked partygoers to leave.

The party then continued at Beaulieu’s home where heavy drinking continued and there was reportedly cocaine, and a fight broke out involving several people, with the melee spilling out onto the lawn.

During the fracas, a woman grabbed a knife, allegedly intending to stab Beaulieu, but it was taken away from her.

Cannon said mulitple witnesses told police that when the woman tried to leave with her three-year-old child, her partner and another woman, Beaulieu and another man pursued them.

The woman then kicked-in the door of a nearby house and took two knives. When she returned, she noticed her partner swinging a rake at Beaulieu and she stabbed Beaulieu twice — once in the chest and once in the back.

She then noticed that the assault victim had pushed the other woman, with her child, to the ground, so she then stabbed the man about three times.

When police arrived on scene, they found Beaulieu alive and laying bleeding on the road. Emergency services arrived at 12:07 a.m. on July 6 and at 12:13 a.m. Beaulieu was pronounced deceased.

The woman accused of stabbing Beaulieu is also charged with aggravated assault for allegedly stabbing the second man who had pursued her following the party.

The Crown opposed Brandon’s release on the tertiary ground, where an accused’s detention in jail is necessary to maintain confidence in the administration of justice.

“It’s a situation where even on a robust bail plan, in our submission, her release would erode the confidence the public has in the administration of justice,” Cannon said.

Brandon’s defence lawyer, Adam Hodge, disputed the Crown’s position that releasing Brandon would shake public confidence in the justice system and argued that detaining someone who is releasable would be what would garner lack of confidence.

Hodge said that his client has a strong self-defence argument as her actions that night were to protect herself and her child.

He said that Beaulieu was swinging a knife when he was stabbed by the woman.

“She was going home, she wanted nothing to do with this. Her family was in danger and she acted accordingly,” Hodge said, proposing Brandon could live in Brandon with family while on bail.

Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta noted the seriousness of the charges, but ultimately decided that the Crown had not met its onus on proving that detention was necessary to maintain public confidence in the justice system.

While the judge said the bail plan was not the best, she said that taking Brandon out of Waywaysecappo would help alleviate some of the concerns surrounding her release.

As part of her bail plan, Brandon was also put on conditions to not attend Waywayseecapo unless for court, and to abide by a curfew.

According to an obituary, Beaulieu was born in Dauphin and grew up in Briggs Spur and Sandy Bay.

He was described as a “big teddy bear” who loved music and playing his guitar. The 23-year-old had two sons and two stepchildren.

Brandon’s matter will next appear in court in Waywayseecapo on Sept. 6.

» gmortfield@brandonsun.com

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