 A defence lawyer accused Ashleigh Pechaluk (left) of a rare moment of honesty when she gave police a teary-eyed confession in which she admitted killing the boyfriend of Nicola Puddicombe (right). (HO)
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TORONTO -- A defence lawyer accused Ashleigh Pechaluk yesterday of a rare moment of honesty when she gave police a teary-eyed confession in which she admitted killing her lover's boyfriend.
Defence lawyer Richard Stern also suggested that Pechaluk falsely implicated her former lover, Nicky Puddicombe, or roommate Patrick Knowles so that Pechaluk could evade responsibility for the bludgeoning death of Nicky's boyfriend, Dennis Hoy, three years ago today.
"She (Puddicombe) didn't do it ... I did it," a weeping Pechaluk told police detectives in a videotaped statement that has been played in court for the jury.
In the taped interview, Pechaluk insisted she was telling the truth and not confessing "to protect Nicky?"
Pechaluk has told court the confession was false and she slept through the homicide and that Puddicombe awoke her with the news that Hoy, her boyfriend of almost 11 years, was dead in her bed.
Pechaluk is a witness at the trial of her former lover, Puddicombe, now 36, who's accused of first-degree murder in the slaying of her 36-year-old boyfriend, a GO Transit officer, at her Etobicoke home. She has pleaded not guilty.
Stern, who represents Puddicombe, accused Pechaluk of lying to prevent being convicted of murder and receiving a life sentence.
"You are willing to do anything to save your skin -- throw Patrick Knowles under a bus, throw Nicky under a bus," charged Stern.
Stern stopped the videotaped statement after each question to reveal, what he called, genuine signs of emotion. She was seen weeping, coughing and speaking in a barely audible voice.
"Are you telling us that's fake? You were acting?" Stern asked.
"No, I wouldn't say that. I was trying to protect Nicky," Pechaluk responded.
The trial continues today.
