Mounties testify about cell phone records during Moncton murder trial

Jurors in a Moncton murder trial heard testimony Monday from two RCMP witnesses about data taken from a cellphone during the investigation into Joedin Leger’s death.

The testimony came early in the sixth week of Riley Phillips’ trial on manslaughter charges. The 20-year-old is accused of killing Leger, who was 18, in Moncton on April 25, 2022. The Crown alleges Leger was shot during a home invasion and robbery involving Phillips and five others.

Monday’s testimony involved a cell phone belonging to a witness who testified Friday. That woman, whom CBC New Brunswick is not naming to protect the identity of a male witness who cannot be named, said she allowed her car to be used by the group that wanted to rob Leger.

RCMP Const. Natasha Couture, a digital forensics specialist, testified Monday that she extracted data from the woman’s cell phone. That included videos from the Snapchat messaging app, she said. One video was recorded around 1:18 AM and another around 2:41 AM on April 25, 2022.

The jury has yet to see the two videos.

Magalie Sephton, a criminal intelligence analyst with the RCMP, testified about the use of GPS data to locate where the videos were recorded.

Sephton said the first video was shot in Moncton at Lexi’s Lounge. That’s where the witness who testified Friday said she went with the group that wanted to rob Leger. The second video was recorded at an apartment belonging to the girlfriend of one of those involved in the scheme, Sephton said, and the cellphone was left there until just before 6:30 a.m. on April 25.

Both witnesses said they were involved in extracting or examining data from other cellphones as part of the investigation into Leger’s death.

Under cross-examination by defense attorney Brian Munro, Sephton was asked on April 24, 2022, about messages coming from other phones seized during the investigation. However, the jury has yet to hear the content of those messages.

The trial started on September 23 and heard 27 witnesses. Last week, Judge Robert Dysart said Monday’s witnesses were expected to be the last the Crown would call to testify. However, there was no further indication Monday as to whether the Crown will call other witnesses.

Dysart told jurors that an issue would be discussed Tuesday in their absence and instructed them to return to court Wednesday.