Accused in murder trial hid drugs before calling 911, says witness

The brother of a Winnipeg man on trial for the murder of his occasional lover says he dissuaded the accusedfrom immediately calling 911 in order to first get rid of drugs in the apartment where the woman was fatally shot.

James Cameron also testifiedTuesdayhe wiped down the handgun Michelle Stobbe was shot with, saying he feared he'd left fingerprints on it after accidentally kicking and then touching the gun.

John Elwood Cameron is charged with second-degree murder in connection with the July 1, 2014 death of Stobbe, 28, inside his suite at the Chateau 100 apartments on Donald Street. He has pleaded not guilty.

The key question a Court of Queen's Bench jury must sort out is whether John shot Stobbe or if she was the victim of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Holy f--k, she shot herselfbro.- Text from John Cameron to James Cameron

James, 34, testified he'd been at a small Canada Day party at his older brother's apartment but departed about an hour after Stobbe arrived leaving her and John alone together.

He'd met Stobbe a few times with John before and knew her as his brother's "intimate partner," James told the court.

When she first turned up, Stobbe was "fairly happy, loud just boisterous," he said. But her demeanour changed shortly after. "She was getting upset," he said. "She was crying then she was happy again, pouring a drink, cranking some tunes," James added.

He said he got a text from John around1:45 a.m.after arriving at his Balmoral Street home.

They went up together to John's 21st-floor suite. He said he saw Stobbe lying on her back in the living room with blood coming from around her head. John's Beretta handgun lay about a foot or so away from her hand.

Thinking he was going to vomit, James said he stepped out on the balcony.

He "kicked the firearm by accident" while stepping over something on his way back inside, he told court. "I leaned down and moved it back in place," said James.

"I freaked out. I knew as soon as I touched it my fingerprints would be on the gun and there's a girl with a hole in her head beside it," he testified.

He said he grabbed some cloth from the kitchen, picked up the gun and took it to the washroom to wipe it off before returning it where he thought he'd originally seen it.

It took 70 minutes to call 911:Crown

James said he convinced John to get rid of three containers being used to grow magic mushrooms before calling 911 to report the shooting.

"He wanted to make a call to 911 I told him not to," James testified. "'This is what we're going to do, get rid of these mushrooms.'

"He was still freaked out, catatonic he just kind of followed me."

The brothers took the containers to James' car and disposed of them behind a business on Pembina Highway, about 15-20 minutes away from the apartment, James said.

He said he'd asked John what happened. "He said that he was trying to get (the gun) from her he said the gun went off." He said he could not recall "verbatim," however, the words John used to describe the incident.

After returning to the apartment, John called 911 and said police arrived within "minutes."

The Crown has said more than 70 minutes elapsed between John texting his brother to alert him to the shooting and the first call to 911.

"This girl, she took my f--kinggun was playing around she shot herself in the f--kinghead," Cameron could be heard telling a 911 operator in an audio recording previously played for jurors.

The trial continues.