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(Updated) Tania Cowell’s family sat through images of the scene of her death in a Hamilton court room today.
It was the second day of testimony. Cowell’s boyfriend, the father of her then-infant, has pleaded not guilty to second degree murder.
Haiden Suarez Noa is in his late 30s. He came to Canada from Cuba in 2009 and met Tania Cowell on the dating site Plenty of Fish a couple years before she got pregnant with their son, Bailun.
He sat with his head in his hands today as the crown showed photos of their apartment covered in blood, and a knife believed to be the murder weapon was held up for the jury. We also heard details of a fight the couple had, leading up to the time Cowell was killed.
It was 36-year-old Tania Cowell’s one-bedroom apartment at 2 Cherrywood Drive in Stoney Creek, but after Bailun was born, Haiden Suarez Noa moved in. He had been living with other Cuban friends in Guelph.
Forensic officers took photos after Cowell’s body was moved. They show blood on the floor by the couch and coffee table, which also has bloody baby wipes on top, and blood all over the hallway between the bedroom and bathroom. In the kitchen, a knife was found inside the sink still stained with Tania Cowell’s blood, and her blood was also on a baby bib beside the sink. Another knife beside the sink had no blood.
The court heard a lengthy text message battle between the couple starting on March 8th and continuing up to a few hours before Cowell was killed . In the messages, she berates him for not helping with housework, and tells him to find another apartment. He promises to do better, and says his worst nightmare is losing Cowell and their baby. Eventually, at about 6pm on March 9th, Cowell invites him to come home, she’ll give him another chance.
At around 11 that night, she was killed.
Suarez-Noa took a photo of her body with his cell phone. He then made several calls, including some to his mother in Cuba. He also logged on to his banking site. The next morning he googled, “homicide Canada jail time.”
And later that day he appeared at a Guelph police station with baby Bailun, and reported that he had killed his girlfriend.
There is no court tomorrow. The court will break to honour Remembrance Day and this case will resume Thursday morning. It’s slated to run until the beginning of December but the lawyers are moving through evidence very quickly at this point.