By Patrick Burles - @PatrickBurles on Twitter

Family member testifies in manslaughter trial; says she saw blood on accused

May 23, 2018 | 4:39 PM

LETHBRIDGE – The cousin of a 56-year-old Lethbridge woman accused of manslaughter testified Wednesday, May 23, saying her relative showed up at her home in February of 2016 with blood on her clothing.

Gloria Eagle Child took the stand as part of a three-week jury trial, discussing her interactions with Jillian Across the Mountain around the time that Frances “Candy” Little Light was found dead in her west side apartment.

Eagle Child explained that Across the Mountain arrived at her home around 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 7 and asked if she could rest there. After letting her in, Eagle Child said she told Across the Mountain to take a shower, saying she looked “rough and rank.” When asked about Across the Mountain’s appearance, and specifically her pants, Eagle Child said, “There was a blood stain.” She added that Across the Mountain asked if she could wash her clothes and that she decided to do it for her.

A few days later, Eagle Child said she heard that police were looking for Across the Mountain, and told her to leave, giving her money for bus fare so she could turn herself in. While leaving, she said Across the Mountain asked if she could use a pair of running shoes, which she consented to, saying she was afraid and just wanted Across the Mountain out of her home.

It was noted by the Crown earlier in the trial that Across the Mountain arrived at the police station in running shoes, having left a pair of black boots at Eagle Child’s home – boots that appear to match ones she was seen wearing in video surveillance at a convenience store on the day of Little Light’s murder, and which had blood on one of them (more on that below).

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Under cross examination by the defence, parts of Eagle Child’s recount of what happened changed significantly.

When asked if she told Across the Mountain that she had to shower and have her clothes washed before coming in, Eagle Child replied, “Yeah.” She gave the same response when asked if she offered the running shoes to Across the Mountain. Eagle Child also acknowledged that she had difficulty seeing at the time, and while she seemed to briefly flip-flop on whether she could see blood on Across the Mountain’s pants, she stated that she did observe it but didn’t think much of it at the time.

During a re-examination by the Crown, Eagle Child said Across the Mountain asked for the shoes, and as for having the clothes washed, she stated, “Jillian Across the Mountain told me to do her laundry.”

Blood found on knife and boot

Earlier in the day, the jury heard from RCMP forensic specialist, Kenneth Hunter. He testified to processing the knife found in the entry way of Little Light’s apartment building and the black boots found at Eagle Child’s home.

He testified that blood found on the knife blade and boots matched a sample taken from Little Light.

The trial is scheduled to resume Thursday.