Sarnia murder trial: Family Christmas party, accused’s drinking the focus of Day 2

Alyssa VanHuizen thinks about Christmas Day 2020 a lot.

Article content

It was a fun-filled evening featuring family members mingling throughout her mom and stepdad’s beautiful new home in Corunna capped by karaoke in the large attached garage.

Article content

But the festivities stand out in her mind for another reason.

“It’s the last time I saw my mom,” the 24-year-old testified Wednesday in a Sarnia courtroom.

Alyssa VanHuizen’s mom, Cheryl VanHuizen, was found dead in that home about one week later. The former waitress and professional cleaner, remembered by her family for her sense of humor, was 51. Soon after, VanHuizen’s 51-year-old common-law husband, Shawn Trowbridge, was charged with second-degree murder, a charge that was later upgraded to first-degree. Trowbridge, now 54, pleaded not guilty Tuesday, marking the start of what’s expected to be a six-week trial.

Article content

Three of VanHuizen’s family members testified as it continued Wednesday: her daughter, her son, Connor VanHuizen, and her younger sister, Julie Pyette. Questions about the get-together on Christmas Day three years ago were asked by the prosecutors to all three witnesses.

Trowbridge’s drinking was also a focus. Alyssa VanHuizen, who first met Trowbridge through her mother when she was about 13, testified he was a shy, quiet, soft-spoken man who often flew under the radar.

But at times, when he drank, he became emotional, sometimes crying, and rambled and went on tangents while in conversation.

She was asked by assistant Crown attorney Siobhan Dundon if her tone of voice changed while drinking.

“Absolutely, yes,” she responded.

Article content

Pyette also described Trowbridge as a calm, really quiet, meek and mild man. Asked how many drinks it would take for him no longer to appear meek and mild, she estimated about five.

Brenda Douwes, another sister of VanHuizen, previously testified Trowbridge appeared hammered when she left the Christmas party, but Alyssa VanHuizen didn’t recall him drinking that much. However, Connor VanHuizen testified Trowbridge was drunk.

The family gathering wasn’t the last time he saw his mother, though. He saw her around 3 pm on Dec. 30, 2020 – hours before she died – when he stopped by the Corunna home to deliver the news that she was going to be a grandmother as he and his girlfriend were expecting.

The jury heard the first of what’s expected to be five statements of agreed facts featuring a series of texts and phone calls between VanHuizen and her son that day. The communication between them later that night revolved around what VanHuizen called a big fight, but no further details were provided and she later said it’d calmed down.

Article content

All of the Crown’s first four witnesses said they never saw any bruises or abrasions on VanHuizen’s face or damage in their home prior to her death.

While cross-examining them, defense lawyer Tyler MacDonald focused on VanHuizen’s struggles with an addiction to prescription painkilling medication and a stay at a residential rehabilitation facility in early 2020.

Pyette also took the jury through the couple’s history together. She recalled they put about seven years prior to her sister’s death.

“At the beginning, I really liked him,” she declared.

They lived in another home on Hill Street in Corunna until it burned down. Then, they moved to a high-rise apartment near Centennial Park in Sarnia for about a year while their new home on Riverside Drive in Corunna was built. They moved there in early December 2020.

OPP Const. Vince Carron was called to testify late Wednesday afternoon. He took photos of Trowbridge at police headquarters after his arrest, which were shown to the jury. In them he has pink markings on him that appear to be scratch marks, Carron said.

The trial continues Thursday. Trowbridge, a boilermaker, is out of custody. He was released on $170,000 lease in December 2021.

[email protected]

@ObserverTerry

Article content