An emotionally-wrenching account of the events leading up to the death of a woman at the hands of her common-law spouse on the Nadleh reserve drew sobs and tears in a packed-to-overflowing courtroom during a sentencing hearing on Wednesday.
Garrett Steven George has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of Destiny Rae Tom, 21, whose badly beaten body was found outside a home on the reserve near Fort Fraser during the early morning of March 23, 2013.
A history of abuse by George on Tom was recounted as Crown prosecutor Cassandra Malfair argued for a sentence of 10 to 12 years, if not more.
The two had met at a party when Tom was a 17-year-old high school student and George was 19 years old. The trouble began soon after the couple had moved into the home of Tom's parents on the Palling reserve located east of Burns Lake and part of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation.
Over the subsequent four years leading up to her death, a controlling and domineering George assaulted Tom five times by the Crown's count. Yet, despite bail and probation conditions prohibiting him from contacting her, George continued to live with Tom both in Palling and later in Nadleh, when they eventually moved to that reserve, part of the Nadleh Whut'en First Nation.
On one occasion, in July 2009, when she was 19 weeks pregnant, they got into an argument because Tom wanted to join her graduation class on a trip to Calgary to learn about college and university options. George did not want her to go and when she argued back, he severely beat her, the court heard, leaving with Tom with bruising and multiple cuts to her face, neck, chest and legs.
Her parents had arrived home to find blood around the house and no sign of the couple. They called police who found the two trying to hitchhike a ride to Nadleh, George's home reserve.
While in hospital in Prince George to assessed whether the baby had been injured, Tom told police George punched, kicked and choked her, pulled her hair, threw her onto the floor and attacked her with knives.
"She thought Mr. George was going to kill her but she was able to calm him by assuring Mr. George she loved him and would not going on the trip," Crown prosecutor Cassandra Malfair told the court. "Ms. Tom said the couple were hitchhiking to Nadleh when the police found them because Mr. George did not want her family to see what Mr. George had done to her."
Most of the incidents occurred when George had been drinking and became angry, but neither of the two were intoxicated at that time, it was noted.
Despite the no-go provision as a condition of probation, the two resumed their relationship when George was released from jail in May 2010. By then, they were the parents of a baby girl.
They moved to Prince George to live with a cousin of Tom's where the pattern continued. George was subsequently charged with assault once again but the count was stayed after he was admitted to hospital under the Mental Health Act following a failed suicide attempt.
They separated briefly and Tom had accepted a camp job. Ignoring the no-contact order, George texted her, threatening to commit suicide and wanting her back. She ultimately abandoned the job and resumed the relationship, moving in with George's mother and brother at Nadleh.
There were no further reports for awhile but in December 2011, Tom sent her brother a "cryptic text" asking him to come right away. He then received another text saying everything was OK and he did not need to come.
Suspcious, Tom's family contact police and drove to Nadleh where they found her with two black eyes, bruising to her cheek, thigh, shin and fingers and with painful ribs. Tom told police George had become jealous over the attention another man gave her during a party. She also told police she did not want to live with George anymore but was afraid he would follow up on a promise to "get his boys" after her if she left. George also told her he would commit suicide and people would hold her responsible if she left.
He pleaded guilty to assault and breach of the no-contact order and was sentenced to 60 days in jail and one year probation which included a no-contact provision and a counseling provision.
Tom moved away for awhile but returned to Nadleh.
A few weeks before she was killed, a confrontation erupted once again when Tom was invited to a scrapbooking course at the Nadleh band hall. Saying he was the "boss," George told her she was not allowed to go. When her friend insisted she come along, Tom quietly told her to drop the idea.
Two weeks before her death, the couple attended a party at the home of two friends on Nadleh. George had been drinking and got increasingly belligerent as the night went on. When Tom told him it was time to go, he knocked her to the ground and choked her, the court heard. George was kicked out while Tom remained inside, afraid to go with him. After much arguing between the party-goers and with George, they were able to persuade him to leave without her by lying and saying she had already gone home.
A video taken at the party provided a "revealing portrait" of their relationship. It showed a shirtless and very intoxicated George demanding she come with him or he was "going to raise hell" while the other party-goers tried to convince him to leave.
Tom remained in the home where she was found the next morning sleeping on the floor. When she realized where she was, Tom said "I gotta go, I'm in trouble," and ran out the door with no shoes, on even though there was snow on the ground.
On the night of Tom's death, the couple was once again attending a party at the same home, with much the same scenario emerging as the night went on. George, who had gotten into another fight, was once again kicked out of the home but kept coming back to demand Tom go with him.
Tom relented and a few hours later, two of the people who had been at the party found her lying on the ground in front of the home by her car. She appeared frozen and cold to the touch and had no pulse.
They saw George walking up the road and demanded he tell them what he had done. In reply, George claimed to have no knowledge.
Police arrested George at the scene and he was taken to the nearby RCMP detachment where he claimed no recollection of what occurred. When he made suicidal comments, he was retained under the Mental Health Act and released to the hospital.
Following an investigating, George was re-arrested in February 2015 and originally charged with second-degree murder. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter in June following a lengthy pre-trial hearing.
Based on the evidence from the scene and the injuries found on Tom's body, it's the Crown's theory that George had attacked her while the party was still going on, punching and kicking her at least eight to 10 times and dragging her along the driveway by her hair towards the car.
"The beating was so severe that the pathologist cannot pinpoint the cause of death because there was three different potentially fatal injuries to Ms. Tom," Malfair said.
George made no effort to seek help from the neighbours and later tried to pin the death on the two people who found Tom's body. George also claimed she would attack him but there was no evidence to support his position.
Rather, Tom was described as "meek and gentle" woman who responded to George's anger at the party with "fear not aggression." She was also described as an honour roll student who wanted to become a teacher or a nurse and had the looks of a model.
George, conversely, was characterized as constantly in trouble, getting suspended from high school at least once a month for arguing with teachers and fighting with other students and . While in custody, George constantly complained of jail guards "pushing his buttons."
He was raised by a single mother in a largely alcohol-free household but has a brother currently in prison as a long-term offender. While not an alcoholic, George has trouble controlling his anger when he's been drinking, the court was told.
Dressed in a black shirt and pants, George appeared mild mannered and spent most of the hearing hunched over and looking at the floor as he sat in the prisoner's box, looking up only occasionally. The hearing was delayed for about 90 minutes after it became apparent there was not enough room in the courtroom gallery to hold the nearly 50 people who had shown up to hear submissions. Authorities eventually settled on putting out additional chairs and letting people sit in the jury box.
Defence counsel's submissions will be heard Thursday in a larger courtroom at the Prince George courthouse.
