Accused killer showed no emotion on night of arrest
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A Brandon man accused of killing his 71-year-old mother “didn’t really have any emotion” during his interview with police on the night of his arrest, a Brandon Police Service member testified on Thursday.
“For the most part (he was) pretty straight-faced. (He) would often stare off toward the wall,” Const. Tyler Nichol told defence lawyer Anthony Dawson in Brandon’s Court of King’s Bench.
Gabriel Paul Heymans, 47, is on trial for second-degree murder in the death of Maureen Heymans, whom court heard he shared an apartment with at 264 McDiarmid Dr. for seven years.
On Wednesday, Crown attorneys Rich Lonstrup and Reid Girard played a recording of Heymans’ interview with Nichol on the evening of Nov. 3, 2024 — the same day Maureen’s body was found in the apartment and police arrested Heymans.
During that interview, Heymans said he found his mother on the floor on the morning of Oct. 26, 2023, with “blood nearby” along with his axe, which he kept in a bag in his bedroom, along with loose change.
He said he thought she was injured and sleeping.
Nichol’s testimony continued on Thursday with cross-examination from Dawson.
Dawson questioned Nichol about several Heymans’ responses during the recorded interview and asked if they made sense to Nichol.
“When he said that he had to walk past his mother’s body five times a day for the last eight days and thought she was sleeping, that made sense to you?” Dawson asked.
“His answer made sense. Whether or not he believed that she was sleeping, I don’t know,” Nichol said.
Dawson referred to points during Heymans’ interview in which he would respond to Nichol’s questions about his mother by saying he “didn’t really know” her and hadn’t spoken to her in roughly a year and a half. Dawson asked what Nichol’s reaction to those answers was.
“They lived in a small two-bedroom apartment where the bedrooms were right next to each other,” Nichol said. “It surprised me … Usually when you live with someone, you do talk to a certain extent.”
Nichol added that he didn’t know what their dynamic was like.
“How would you describe Mr. Heymans’ emotional state?” Dawson asked.
“He didn’t really have any emotion,” Nichol said.
“His answers to my questions not involving the murder were quick and reasonable,” Nichol said. “When I started asking questions directly related to the murder … it seemed like he got a little nervous. His eyes started twitching, his hands and legs started shaking.”
When asked if Heymans’ demeanour was typical in suspects, Nichol said everyone is different, with some answering questions quickly and some not at all.
The trial continues.
» sanderson@brandonsun.com