Andrea Giesbrecht's trial halted as husband considers waiving spousal communication privilege

The trial ofAndreaGiesbrecht, the Winnipeg woman accused of concealing the remains of six infants in a rented storage locker, is nowadjourned until late August, with today's testimony from her husband halted as questions surfaced about how muchof the couple's conversations can be introduced in court.

Defence lawyer Greg Brodsky had just started cross-examining Giesbrecht's husband, Jeremy, on Thursday morning when the issue ofspousal communication privilege was raised.

Spousal communication privileges refer to conversations between spouses and how much of that, if any, can be introduced in court.

• Husband of AndreaGiesbrechtdidn't notice pregnancies, court hears
• AndreaGiesbrechthad long-term affair, court hears
• AndreaGiesbrecht'sson testifies he never saw his mother pregnant
• At least some infants whose remains found in locker likely born alive, court hears

Under the Canada Evidence Act, spouses have the right not to disclose in their testimony any communications they've had with each other.

Jeremy Giesbrechtearlier told the Crownhe did not want to waive his spousal communication privilege during his testimony, but on Thursday he told court hewould be prepared to waive itfor some questions from the defence.

Provincial court Judge Murray Thompson, who is overseeing the trial, told him that could also give the Crown an opportunity to ask him more questions afterwards.

Crown attorney DebbieBuorsargued that ifGiesbrechtwaives his spousal privilege in answeringquestions from the defence, he should waivehis privilege in answeringall questions, including thosefrom the prosecution.

Giesbrecht then said he wasn't sure if he'd be willing to waive his spousal privilege for all questions. It was at that time that Thompson advised him to seek legal advice.

"Anybody in here a lawyer that can give me advice?" Giesbrecht yelled out in the courtroom.

He then left theroom as lawyers discussed the matter further with the judge. He was seen talking to a man in the hallway, but it's not known if he was a lawyer.

Following a short break, Thompson told court that it's only fair to give Giesbrechtmore time to seek advice from independent counsel about his spousal privilege rightsbefore continuing his testimony. With that, the day's hearing ended early.

The trial will resume Aug. 29, with more experts scheduled to testify untilSept. 2. Jeremy Giesbrecht will be called back to testify sometime during that week, but it's not clear when.

In the meantime, Thompson gave the defence and Crown until Aug. 11 to provide him with submissions on case laws in Canada regarding spousal privilege.

Husband, son didn't notice pregnancies

AndreaGiesbrecht, a42-year-old mother of two,has pleaded not guilty tosix counts of concealing bodies after the remains were discovered in theU-Haul locker in October 2014.

Each charge carries a maximum sentence of two years.Giesbrechtis being tried in front of a judge alone in provincial court in Winnipeg.

During questioning by the Crown onWednesday, JeremyGiesbrecht testified he didn't notice his wife was pregnant multiple times, and only learned she was pregnant with their first son on the day he was born. He said he did know his wife was pregnant with their younger son.

One of the couple's sons testified earlier this week that hedoesn't remember seeing his mother pregnant and never noticed changes in her weight.

Earlier in the trial, an obstetrics and gynecology expert testified that AndreaGiesbrecht was pregnant at least 18 times between ages20 and 38.

A Manitoba Health official has testified that Giesbrechthad nine legally induced abortions and one "unspecified" abortion between the ages of 20 and 37, according to claims submitted to the provincial government department.

She also had miscarriages and a "menstrual disorder," the official said.

Jeremy Giesbrecht told court he was aware his wife had nine abortions, but did not know about the eight other pregnancies.

Throughout the trial, witnesses have noted that Andrea Giesbrecht usually wore baggy clothing. When asked how his wife dressed, her husband loudly said, "Boring, boring, boring."

Husband had vasectomy in 2011

Jeremy Giesbrecht also testified he had a vasectomy in 2011, but said it was never confirmed to be successful because he didn't go to a followup appointment. He added he can't be sure that he was the only man who might have conceived a child with his wife.

Giesbrecht is the biological father of the infants found in his wife's rented storage locker, according to earlier testimony from a forensic biologist.

A forensic biologist testified she compared DNA from the infants to a sample collected from a soiled sanitary napkin presumed to contain Andrea Giesbrecht'sDNA. Although experts have said it's very likely the infants were hers,Brodsky had asked about other women staying at the Giesbrecht home and whether they would have access to the Giesbrechts' master bathroom.

The prosecutor asked Jeremy Giesbrecht if he had sex with a list of specific women. The witness called the question intrusive but saidhe did not have sex with any woman other than his wife between 1999 and 2014.

• On mobile? Follow our recap of today's hearing