The partner of a man allegedly slain by Eric Wildman testified Tuesday, describing the days following Clifford Joseph’s disappearance near Stead, Manitoba on June 7, 2021.
Cristin Wise dabbed her eyes with a tissue as Crown prosecutor Christian Vanderhooft asked her to identify a hat she said belonged to Joseph that she found while searching the area around their rural home the day he went missing.
Wildman is charged with first-degree murder in connection with Joseph’s death. His jury trial is expected to run until Feb. 15.
Forty-four-year-old Wise told the court she and Joseph had been in a relationship roughly a year and a half when they began renting a house neighbouring Wildman’s property. The pair would do odd jobs for money, and fished and chopped wood to sell, court heard.
“I knew him since kindergarten, so pretty much my whole life,” Wise said.
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June 6, 2021, was a “normal day” at home with Joseph, Wise said. That afternoon, …