The trial began in Brandon on Monday for a man accused of killing his wife before their home was bombed two years ago.
Eight women and six men were selected in Brandon’s Westman Centennial Auditorium, which turned into an interim court on Monday morning for jury selection.
14 people will ultimately decide whether Robert Hughes is guilty of killing his 63-year-old wife Betty.
Hughes was charged with second-degree murder because his wife died in October 2019. She died in her home near Brandon’s Green Acres that they bought a few months ago.
Police said Betty had died before the couple’s home exploded, turning it into rubble. Her body was later found in the rubble. Robert was found severely injured in the rubble.
Hughes, 63, was arrested after being discharged from the hospital at the time of the incident. He has been detained since his arrest.
On Monday, the police officer of the sheriff led Hughes in a black suit and fetters. He was sitting in the prison box and hunched over, looking weak.
“The last day of Betty Hughes’s life was not what she or her family expected. She was severely cut and needs medical help,” prosecutor Chris Van der Hoft said in the opening remarks.
“Her husband is the only other person there, and he didn’t help her. When she bleeds to death, what he did was go to the basement and cut off the gas pipe.”
Van der Hoft said in his speech that the trial will hear how the couple’s marriage broke up. Although he bought a new house together, he said that the relationship cannot be repaired.
He said that after Robert returned home, he found a real estate agent’s “for sale” sign on the front lawn. The couple had a dispute in the kitchen at home, and their relationship had undergone a fatal change.
He said that Betty was killed after being slashed several times by a yellow-handled utility knife. The court was told that the extent of her injuries and bleeding caused her death.
“He killed his wife and knew there was no turning back,” he said. “He didn’t call 911, but handled the situation in a cowardly manner.”
Van der Hoft said that Hughes then tried to end his life. The court was told that with a rope hanging from his neck and a utility knife in his hand, he was pulled out of the rubble.
“Robert Hughes went downstairs after killing Betty and tampered with the boiler’s gas supply. The gas accumulation in the basement was ignited due to the indicator light on the water heater, causing a massive explosion,” he said.
Travis Foster of Constant Brandon Police’s Forensic Appraisal Unit was the first witness to take a stand in an official case. Soon after the explosion, he and his partner were called to the scene, and they were able to see the kitchen area of the house where Betty’s body was located.
He testified: “There is a lot of blood on the floor where Betty Hughes is, especially where her head is.” “The back of her shirt was completely soaked in blood.”
Foster said that Betty’s body was placed on a tarp and moved to a separate garage on the property to prevent further harm to her body. He said that after further inspection of the area, blood stains were found on the refrigerator door, counter and kitchen floor.
“In the engine room, we observed that the main gas line entering the house’s hot water boiler was disconnected,” Foster testified. “There is a pipe wrench and some blood on the floor at the bottom of the hot water tank.
“The control valve on the hot water tank is switched to the pilot position, and there are blood stains on the hot water control valve.”
The overalls, ropes with nooses, blood-stained shoes and other clothing worn by Hughes that night were seized by the police after he was taken to the hospital.
During the cross-examination, defense attorney Saul Simmonds asked Foster about the reason, he and his partner Constable. Robert Gale, who also testified on Monday, only swabbed certain blood stains and searched only part of the ruins of the house.
He also questioned why no further search was performed to find the missing tip of the utility knife, while other items, such as individual items in Betty’s wallet, were listed item by item.
Members of the Brandon Fire and Emergency Services Center, a fire investigator, and DNA and pathology experts are expected to testify this week.
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Post time: Dec-01-2021
