The next-door neighbour of a man on trial for murder testified in court Monday with some chilling details.
Schubert Mania said on the morning of Nov. 19, 2013, he heard a loud argument inside his neighbours’ apartment on Grand Blvd. in NDG.
Michael Gero, 26, and his girlfriend Sherri Thomas, 19, lived there.
Mania said he ignored the initial screaming and swearing, as he had heard similar arguments from them before, but then he heard gurgling sounds like someone was choking.
He then heard Gero calling for help, and opened his door to see Gero standing in his boxer shorts, covered in blood.
Mania called 9-1-1 and police arrived a few minutes later.
In court Monday, the defence attorney tried to undermine the witness in exchanges that became at times tense.
As the defence sough to poke holes in Mania's memory, the witness became angry, saying they were trying to put words in his mouth.
The judge told the witness this line of questioning was normal during cross-examination.
The first officer on the scene testified Monday that upon arriving at the scene he and his partner arrested and handcuffed Gero immediately, then entered the apartment.
He saw Thomas sitting on the floor, with blood coming from the left side of her head, breathing with her eyes closed.
He called an ambulance which took 20 minutes to arrive despite his flagging it as a top priority.
Thomas was declared dead upon arrival in hospital.
The second officer at the scene testified that Gero said that he was in the shower when he heard a gunshot, then emerged to see Thomas injured.
Gero then told the officer that he knew his rights and wanted to have a lawyer.
Police said the gun used was eventually retrieved on the roof of the building.
Gero is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Sherri Thomas.
The victim’s family attended the first day of the trial on Friday and said they intend to be there every day.
