The trial of the man accused of killing Denise Bourdeau got underway Tuesday, with the Crown alleging that David Thomas had both motive and opportunity to commit the murder.
“Who had the motive? The intent? The animus? The opportunity to harm her? The answer to every question is Thomas,” prosecutor Karey Katzch told jurors.
Thomas has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.
He was the common law partner of Bourdeau, who was last seen alive leaving a party – with Thomas – early on the morning of Jan. 1, 2007.
Several months later, her remains were found in the Grand River.
The Waterloo woman’s body was so decomposed by that point that exactly what caused her death has never been determined.
In her opening address, Katzch said violence and alcohol marked the relationship between the two from the beginning, with Bourdeau always returning to Thomas even though he would attack her and threaten to kill her.
That included in 2005, she said, when Thomas pleaded guilty to physically assaulting Bourdeau.
The trial continues Wednesday.
