The two men charged with murder in the death of Orillia man Joseph Simonds have permanent smiles etched on their hands.
Two witnesses took the stand on Friday at the Barrie courthouse in the last day of evidence in the first-degree murder trials of Martin Forget and Brian Quesnel. The two are accused of killing Simonds in his Franklin Street home in Orillia on June 4, 2017.
Richard Carroll, former owner of Antihero Tattoos, and his girlfriend, Allison Littlewood, who worked as the shop manager, both testified before the jury as the final of the Crown’s witnesses in the case.
Littlewood testified she had known Forget for between three and four years prior to 2017 through Carroll, and that she and Carroll knew Forget well.
Littlewood and Carroll both testified that on June 3, 2017, Forget showed up at the tattoo shop on Dunlop Street in Barrie when they opened at about noon with Brian Quesnel in tow, who both witnesses said they hadn’t previously met. Carroll said Forget was driving his black Chrysler 300.
“We weren’t expecting him, but it wasn’t uncommon for him to pop in,” Littlewood testified. “(Forget) said he was interested in getting a hand piece, something to do with the Joker.”
Littlewood and Carroll both testified that as the film Suicide Squad had been recently released, the Joker’s Smile tattoo – an image of an over-exaggerated smile tattooed on the hand made popular by Jared Leto’s portrayal in the film – was very popular and trendy at the time.
Shortly after their arrival, Carroll testified he left to attend the Barrie Automotive Flea Market at Burl’s Creek Event Grounds in Oro-Medonte Township and was not present at the shop for the rest of the appointment.
Littlewood said she did not hear Quesnel or Forget talk about the significance of the image to them at any point throughout the day they were at the shop.
“We never got into the meaning behind it,” said Littlewood. “I assumed it’s just because they were close.”
Consent forms from the shop signed by both Forget and Quesnel were entered as an exhibit as part of the Crown’s evidence.
At the end of the appointment, which Littlewood estimated was between 7 and 8 p.m., she testified that Forget said they intended to head back to the Ottawa area.
“They discussed going to get food and then heading home,” said Littlewood.
During cross-examination, Quesnel’s defence attorney, Alan Brass, asked Littlewood to clarify some terminology.
“You referred to a piece?” asked Brass.
Littlewood clarified that in the tattoo world, a piece is a tattoo that can be completed in one sitting, as opposed to a sleeve.
Also on Friday, the Crown read to the jury some final agreed statements of fact.
As part of their investigation, OPP searched through Joseph Simonds’ Facebook profile. On May 4, 2017, he updated his profile picture to a photo of the Joker and Harley Quinn from Suicide Squad.
Earlier in the trial, during Sonny Brokenshire’s testimony to the jury, he testified that when he confronted Simonds initially with the allegations of sexual assault against his daughter through Nicole Pinto’s Facebook chat, Simonds' response was to change the subject and tell Pinto about how he had watched Suicide Squad with Brokenshire’s daughter and she had become “obsessed” with Harley Quinn.
The jury also heard earlier in the trial and again on Friday that the sexual assault allegations against Joseph Simonds were deemed unfounded and no criminal charges were ever laid.
Other statements of fact read to the jury included that the shotgun used as a weapon in the death of Simonds has never been recovered.
Another outlined the circumstances that led to Quesnel’s arrest, that he was arrested on June 16, 2017 with the assistance of Quebec Provincial Police SWAT team at the residence of Martin Forget, Natalie Forget and Brandie Lalonde in St. Barbe, Que. While he attempted to flee on foot, he was caught and arrested without incident.
On Friday, both defence attorneys Alan Brass and James Harbic indicated they would not be calling witnesses in the case.
Next week, starting on Tuesday, the Crown, Brass on behalf of Forget and Harbic on behalf of Quesnel will be presenting their closing arguments to the jury, after which time the jury will go into deliberations.
