LEGEBOKOFF TRIAL: Loren Leslie not suicidal, say parents — (Prince George Free Press)

The 15-year-old girl, who was found murdered on a logging road off Highway 27 between Vanderhoof and Fort St. James November 27, 2010, did, though, have a history of psychological problems, a Supreme Court jury heard Tuesday.

“I had to be there all the time for her,” Loren’s mother Donna testified regarding the teen’s anxiety attacks. “I would just sit with her.”

Donna Leslie’s testimony came on the second day of the Supreme Court trial of Cody Alan Legebokoff, 24, charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Loren Leslie, Jill Stuchenko, Natasha Montgomery, and Cynthia Maas.

Crown prosecutor Joseph Temple, in his opening statement Monday, said that during one of several interviews Legebokoff had with police after being arrested November 27, 2010, he said Loren Leslie had “gone psycho,” started hitting herself with a wrench and saying she wanted to “end it all.”

When asked by defence counsel James Heller if he was aware of any suicide attempts by his daughter, Doug Leslie stated:

“Not to my knowledge.”

Donna Leslie, with whom Loren primarily lived after her parents separated, also testified that she did not believe her daughter was suicidal. That wasn’t always the case, however, as she told the court Loren began “cutting” herself when she was 12 years old.

“She wasn’t trying to commit suicide, she was making a statement,” Donna Leslie testified. “At the time, I didn’t know about cutting. I would freak out.”

Under cross examination by Heller, Donna Leslie confirmed that Loren could suffer delusional episodes, including hearing voices; that she had been diagnosed as being bi-polar and was prescribed Zoloft; suffered from post-traumatic depression; and was under the care of a Prince George psychiatrist.

Loren had been hospitalized after over-dosing on medication for depression.

“She had her stomach pumped,” Donna Leslie said.

Donna also described the events of November 27, 2010, which was, for them, a normal evening.

“She was in her room playing on her computer,” Donna Leslie said. “I was in my room, across the hall, reading … She texted me and told me she was going to have a coffee with a girlfriend. I said ‘OK, be good and don’t forget what time to have to come home (she had a 1 a.m. curfew) … I was dozing when police phoned at around midnight.”

The trial is expected to last six months.