Andrea Giesbrecht, accused of concealing infant remains, had long-term affair, court hears
WARNING: This story contains graphic details
The Winnipeg woman accused of concealing the remains of six infants in a U-Haul storage locker had an affair and appeared to be pregnant twice, a casino employee testified in provincial court Tuesday.
Andrea Giesbrecht, 42, is charged with six counts of concealing bodies after the remains were found in October 2014. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of two years in jail. She is being tried in front of a judge alone.
Witness Lyn Burdett testified that she met Giesbrecht in 2000 at McPhillips Station Casino, where Burdett was working.
Giesbrecht, who was married, was dating a man who worked at the casino in 2005 when she appeared to be about six months pregnant, Burdett told the court. Giesbrecht said the man was the baby's father and later said she lost the baby, Burdett testified.
Giesbrecht also asked Burdett to lie to her husband when she wanted to go on a trip to Minnesota with her boyfriend, Burdett said. Giesbrecht told her husband the trip was with Burdett.
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Court records indicate that Giesbrecht, who has also gone by the name Andrea Naworynski, is a gambling addict. Burdett said that she would see Giesbrecht nearly every day at the casino.
Giesbrecht looked about six months pregnant again in 2009, Burdett said.
That contradicts testimony from Giesbrecht's teenage son who told the court yesterday that he never saw his mother pregnant or put on a lot of weight. The teen can't be identified due to a court-ordered publication ban.
When asked by defence lawyer Greg Brodsky if his parents had a rocky relationship, the son said they did.
Previously in the trial, forensic biologist Christine Crossman testified the biological father of the infants whose remains were found in the storage locker was Jeremy Giesbrecht.
Accused wore baggy clothes, witnesses say
The second witness to testify today said Giesbrecht only wore baggy clothing.
Linda Melo met Giesbrecht in 2005 because their sons were school friends and often had sleepovers. Melo testified that although she never saw her pregnant, Giesbrecht often wore a baggy black fleece sweater even during hot weather.
The day's final witnesss, Heather MacQuarrie, was a close friend of Giesbrecht's since they were teenagers working as servers at Garden City Inn. MacQuarrie was the maid of honour when the Giesbrechts married.
MacQuarrie said although they were friends, she didn't find out that Giesbrecht had her first child until after the baby was born.
"[I was] very surprised. I didn't know she was pregnant," MacQuarrie said.
MacQuarrie testified that she didn't notice weight changes on her friend, but said she'd "never known her to wear tight-fitting clothes."
The prosecutor pushed MacQuarrie to talk about conversations she had with Giesbrecht after the charges were laid, but the witness said she "was uncomfortable talking about it."
Giesbrecht's husband is expected to be called to testify at the trial on Wednesday by the Crown.
On Tuesday, the prosecutor said in court the husband may be an adverse witness and that she may seek permission under the Canada Evidence Act to cross-examine him.