Murder trial in death of Charlotte Lafferty hears elder's frustrated calls for help to RCMP

A Fort Good Hopeelder's desperate calls for help from RCMP as hewitnessed a woman being beaten to death outside his residence were played for a Yellowknife jury on Monday.

BarthyKotchilewastestifying at thetrial of a Fort Good Hope, N.W.T., teenager charged with first-degreemurder in the death of CharlotteLafferty.Lafferty, 23, was found beaten to death the morning of March 22, 2014,near the community's seniors' complex.

There is no 911 system in the Northwest Territories. After-hours calls to community RCMP detachments are forwarded to the dispatch centre at the Yellowknife detachment.

KotchilespeaksSlavey,and very little English. A translator assisted him when he testified in court but none was offered when he made the calls that morning.

The elder was looking out his bedroom window at the time,seeing a woman being beatenjust metres away.

Kotchilesays hefirstcalled at about 7 a.m. According to theRCMP, the callwas made at 7:17.

'Somebody beating up somebody'

"I want to report somebody beating up somebody outside the old folks' duplex,"Kotchile says in the recording.

0:53Barthy Kotchile's 1st call to RCMP

A Fort Good Hope elder makes a frantic call to RCMP dispatch in Yellowknife to report a violent assault that ends in death.

The dispatcher asks him who is being assaulted.

"He's kicking her in the head," he adds.

"Do you know who it is, yes or no?"

"No, they're outside."

"Who is assaulting him?"

"I don't know, they're outside."

"OK. OK. You don't need to yell. Are they male or female?"

The recording ends.

'Somebody killing somebody over here!'

In anothercall RCMP say was recorded at 7:24, the dispatcher tells Kotchile he needs to stop hanging up.

1:43Barthy Kotchile's 2nd call to RCMP

A Fort Good Hope elder makes a second call after hanging up in frustration while trying to report a violent assault that ends in death.

"The police are on their way,"she says.

"Duplex!" Kotchile says.

"But you need to give me more information," she says. "Is it a guy or a girl fighting?"

"Up behind the duplex!"

"Behind the duplex?"

"Old folks,yeah!"

"And what are they wearing?"

"I don't know, they're outside!"

"Can you hear them?"

Kotchiletalks rapidly and loudly, and the dispatcher tells him to stop yelling.

He lets out what sounds like a frustrated exclamation.

"You need to stop yelling and you need to speak slower," she says.

"Somebody killing somebody over here!"

"Someone seeninto your door?" she asks.

"Outside the duplex, I say!" he yells.

"Yes, they're outside the duplex, I know that, but what is going on? They're fighting?"

"I don't know if that girl is alive!"

"What is your name?"

"Never mind. I want it reportedto the police right away!"

"You are reporting it to the police, sir. The officers are going to want to know who's calling, cause we don't know what's going on."

"Outside there's a girl that's got no clothes on and she's lying in the snow!"

"OK, just hold on one moment."

The recording ends.

Third call

That's whenKotchilehangs up and callshis neighbour, JohnCotchilly, who speaks better English.

Cotchilly made his own call to theRCMPat 7:33.

2:42John Cotchilly's call to RCMP

A Fort Good Hope elder makes a call to RCMP dispatch to report a violence crime in progress. The recording was played in the murder trial in the death of Charlotte Lafferty in Yellowknife Monday.

The first Fort Good Hopeofficer to respond says hewas awoken at 7:18 and got tothe scene just after 7:30 a.m.

TheRCMPsays it has an online aboriginal language translation system available for people who do not speak English.

No one from the RCMP was available to say how the system works or whether it was in place onthe dayLaffertywas killed.

The trialcontinues today.