Joshua Frank testifies Jason Klaus murdered his family

Warning: Thisstory contains graphic content.

On a frigid December night, Joshua Frank sat in the passenger seat of a black Chevrolet Suburban.

Jason Klaus was behind the wheel. Frank thought they were going to buy cocaine. Instead he said Klaus drove to his parents' farmhouse.

Frank's eyes opened wide on the witness stand as he told a packed courtroom in Red Deer what Klaus said before he got out of the vehicle.

"If you want to make it through this night you will shut the f--k up and do what I tell you."

Both men are charged with three counts each of first-degree murder in the December2013 deaths of Gordon, Sandra and Monica Klaus.

Frank is now testifying in his own defence.

• Jason Klaus, accused in triple-murder case, blames his friend for killings
• Jealousy, threats, sex assault allegations at triple-murder trial

The 32-year-old described spending hours at the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Bar in Castor, Alta., with Klaus earlier that night. Frank said it was a happy mood at the table. He was drinking double tequila paralyzers.

"I had a bit of a problem with alcohol and they go down pretty quick," Frank testified.

Two women were drinking with them. When they left to go to the washroom, Frank said he asked Klaus if he had any cocaine with him.

"He said he didn't have any left, but we could definitely go get some later," Frank said. "Then he asked me if I remembered the conversation on the farm in October."

The October conversation

Frank testified that in October2013, he texted Klaus looking for cocaine, and was told to head out to the Klausfamily farm.

When he got there, he said he joined Klaus in the front seat of the Suburban. The two men snorted cocaine and had a drink. Frank said Klaus was upset.

"He starts kind of ranting about his dad and the farm," Frank testified. "He's saying how much more work he's doing around the farm because his dad's sick. He's not getting paid anything for all this extra work."

Frank said he just let Klaus vent.

"He gets angry very easily," Frank said. "I was thinking I just want to get my drugs and get out of here."

The anger ratcheted up.

"He said that he had forged a couple of the farm cheques and he was worried that was going to get found out and he would be kicked off of the farm.

"He said, 'Sometimes I think it would just be easier if they were all gone. I could run this farm the way I want.' "

According to Frank, that comment foreshadowed what took place on thefarm in the middle of the night onDec. 8, 2013.

'Don't even think about leaving'

Frank testified Klaus stopped at the entrance to the family farm and turned off the vehicle lights.

"Then he looks at me and says, 'Just sit here. Don't make any noise. Don't even think about leaving.' "

Frank said he was paralyzed by fear. He followed Klaus's demands.

"I see him get out of the Suburban, walk into the yard and go around the back side of the house," he testified. "I heard some noise. Something loud."

A few minutes later, Frank said he saw Klaus approach the driveway again.

"I see his arm kind of go out and see a muzzle flash and hear a gunshot," Frank said.

Court has been told the family dog was shot and killed outside the house.

Frank said Klaus approached the vehicle, opened the passenger door and ordered him out.

"I got out and followed him. He led me to a white pickup truck and tells me to start the truck up."

Frank said he watched Klaus exit a Quonset hut with a jerry can that he carried into the house.

"He came out a couple of minutes later and basically just dropped the jerry can."

According to Frank, Klaus got back in his Suburban, pulled a U-turn and began to drive away. Frank had been ordered to follow in the white truck.

Frank said his mind was reeling during the 20-minute drive to a remote location.

When Klaus finally pulled over, he told Frank to throw the truck keys into the ditch and get back in the Suburban.

There was silence as the two men headed back towards Castor. Frank said he repeatedly asked Klaus what was going on. After the third time, he said Klaus finally responded.

"He looked at me and yelled, 'I told you to shut the f--k up. I just lost my entire family. I'm in no mood for your bullshit'."

Frank said Klaus's face was flushed, that he looked "enraged."

"There's this look in his eyes of just pure anger," Frank testified.

"So I don't say anything. I had a million things going through my mind. I just shut up and wait for something else to happen."

It was -30 C that night. Frank said Klaus dropped him off about half a mile outside of town, with a warning.

"You tell anybody about this you're f--king dead."

Frank said when he finally got back to his place, he sat on his bed and cried.

"Something terrible obviously just happened. And I was there. What's going to happen now?"

A complicated relationship

Frank said his first encounter with Klaus happened when he was13 years old.

"I'd just gotten into a fight after school one day," Frank testified. "I was upset. He noticed me walking down the road and stopped to ask if I was okay. I told him I was being picked on. I was sick of it. I was bigger, I'm fatter, I'm an outcast,I don't fit in."

Klaus, who is nine years older, asked Frank if he wanted a lift. Frank got into the truck and said the other man offered him the chance to try cocaine for the first time. He said yes.

According to Frank, their next encounter was about a year later. He was walking to work when Klaus offered him a ride. He said Klaus drove to a back road, then physically and sexually assaulted him. As Frank sobbed on the witness stand, he told the hushed courtroom, "It made me feel like I was nothing. So insignificant I just wanted to die."

In the prisoner's box, Klaus shook his head slightly, with a slight smile on his face. He has denied having any sexual relationship with the co-accused.

Frank said the sexual relationship was intermittent and lasted until he was 17 years old.

"I was scared of him," Frank said. Because of the beatings, sexual assaults. I've always struggled with low self-esteem."

Frank's lawyer, Andrea Urquhart, asked him to describe his adult relationship with Klaus.

"It's very hard to describe," Frank said. "I almost felt like he owned me. Like I had to do what he wanted me to do."

Frank's testimony continues Saturday morning.