Erick Buhr cross-examined on the stand at his second-degree murder trial

All the evidence has now been called at the trial of Erick Buhr, who has pleaded not guilty to second degree murder in the death of his grandmother, Viola Erb.

Erb, 88, was found injured in her home just outside of Baden on Sept. 24, 2022. She died not long after emergency crews arrived.

Buhr, who took the stand in his own defense, was asked to explain numerous inconsistencies in his testimony during cross-examination Friday.

Prosecutor Simon McNaughton started by asking Buhr about a safe he claimed to have found open in his grandmother’s room, and why he never mentioned it to police when he was asked if he had seen anything out of place in the house.

Buhr said he was having acute cocaine withdrawal at the time and doesn’t remember it. He said the open safe slipped his mind which is why he didn’t bring it up until the trial.

Court has heard that police found blood-stained jeans in Buhr’s bedroom. On the stand, Buhr admitted to wearing them when he found Viola, but changing out of them before police arrived.

McNaughton showed Buhr a transcript of his interview with Detective Andrew Kroetsch on Sept. 29, 2022, after he was arrested for Erb’s murder. At that time, Buhr told Kroetsch he hadn’t worn those jeans in days.

Buhr told Kroetsch someone must have put on his jeans and hurt Erb.

“I mean, while I was in the bush, someone came in, put clothes on, did that, put clothes back, left. I come in, I’m set up for everything,” Buhr told the detective in the transcript from that interview.

McNaughton asked why Buhr lied and made up a narrative that would explain the bloody clothes, sending police down a false alley.

Buhr said he was scared, in withdrawal from cocaine, and frustrated with the detective.

“I was mostly just trying to be a pain in his ass… because he wouldn’t leave me alone,” Buhr said. “He wouldn’t stop pestering me. He wouldn’t stop asking me questions.”

McNaughton also asked Buhr about testimony he gave that he had been asleep between 4:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. the day Erb died.

McNaughton showed telephone and text logs that showed Buhr had been making calls and sending messages throughout that time.

Buhr said he didn’t remember those communications but agreed they must have happened because of the records. He said he must have slept in between those calls and messages.

McNaughton’s final line of questioning focused on the GPS data gathered by Buhr’s ankle monitor. Court previously heard Buhr had been wearing it for a few months as part of a conditional sentence order, and it tracked his location once a minute.

 

Buhr has said that the data it gathered wasn’t always accurate. He testified that he was in a wooded area behind the house, using cocaine and listening to music, for about 45 minutes before coming into the house around 1:15 p.m. to find his grandmother bleeding on the kitchen floor. Court has heard the panicked 911 call he placed at 1:18 p.m.

McNaughton compared the GPS data gathered to police bodycam footage from the emergency response.

McNaughton noted that while the GPS locations were not pinpoint accurate, they did match quite closely to where Buhr was as he moved around the house during the early stages of the police investigation.

“It follows quite accurately your movements as we are aware of them on the bodycam,” McNaughton said.

However, McNaughton said to Buhr, “When all I have is your word, suddenly it’s wildly inaccurate.”

McNaughton went back to the GPS data from 12:50 to 12:59, the time when Buhr said he was in the forest, but the data plotted on the map shows him elsewhere.

“According to the GPS, you went from the front yard somewhere, into the front door and into your house,” McNaughton said.

Buhr reiterated he was on his log in the forest at that time.

McNaughton said, “I’m going to suggest you went into the house sometime between 12:50 and 12:59 where you encountered Viola. Do you agree?"

"No," said Buhr.

"You got into some kind of fight with Viola. I don’t know why," said McNaughton.

"I didn't get into a fight with my grandmother," Buhr replied.

"You attacked her in the foyer,” McNaughton said.

"No, I did not,” said Buhr.

“You hit her down to the ground in the foyer,” said McNaughton.

"I did not, sir,” said Buhr.

“You dragged her into the kitchen,” said McNaughton.

"No, I did not,” said Buhr.

“You punched her while her head was on the floor of the kitchen,” said McNaughton.

“I did not,” said Buhr.

“You broke your knuckles on her teeth,” said McNaughton.

 

“No, I did not,” said Buhr.

“You crushed her hyoid bone,” said McNaughton.

“I did not,” said Buhr.

“Did you stomp on her neck? How did you do that?” said McNaughton.

"I would never hurt my grandmother. I've never hurt any woman in my entire life," said Buhr.

McNaughton went on to say he believes Buhr then panicked and realized there was GPS data of his whereabouts. Buhr denied it.

McNaughton said he thinks Buhr then thought to himself, “The only thing I can do is call the cops myself, because one way or another they're coming, and just try to ride it out. That's what you tried to do, wasn't it?”

“Definitely not,” said Buhr.

With all the evidence in the case now called, the jury has been asked to return on Tuesday for the start of closing arguments from the crown and defence.

After that, the judge will give the jury legal instructions, and they will begin deliberations. That could start on Wednesday or Thursday.