Jurors in the murder trial of Brian Marbury were confronted Friday with graphic testimony about the discovery of a shallow grave containing the body of Sahra Bulle behind a Windsor motel.
WARNING: This article contains details that some readers may find disturbing. Readers' discretion is advised.
Const. David Perreault, a 15-year member of the Windsor Police Service, told the court he was part of a search team assigned to the wooded area east of Bestway Motel on June 6, 2023 - three weeks after Bulle, 36, was last seen alive.
By 11:16 a.m., the search led to human remains.
"I could smell something very distinct - the smell of a decaying body," Perreault testified. "Once you smell something once, you don’t forget it."
He said the body appeared to be in a shallow grave, with brown hair visible, dark flesh exposed, and the figure curled in a fetal position.
"The body itself wasn’t full exposed, probably just a knee or a hip," Perreault recalled.
Dr. James Morrow, a forensic biologist with Ontario's Centre of Forensic Sciences, testified that Bulle's remains were in such poor condition that experts couldn't obtain a usable DNA sample directly from her.
Instead, investigators relied on a reference swab from her mother, Fartumo Kusow, to compare with items seized during the investigation.
One of those exhibits was a towel from the Hampton Inn hotel on Huron Church Road - about a one-minute drive from the Bestway Motel.
A bloodstain on that towel produced an incomplete DNA profile.
Even so, Morrow said the results were "41 times more likely" to have come from Bulle than from an unrelated person.
Jurors also heard about a plastic water bottle recovered near the scene.
Unlike the bloodstained towel, that water bottle swab produced a "complete" female DNA profile, which testing showed was "13,000 times more likely" to be Bulle's DNA than anyone else's.
Other exhibits included vodka bottles, a lemonade container, and a t-shirt belonging to Marbury.
Male DNA was detected on the vodka bottles, though Morrow said it was not suitable for comparison.
The jury also heard how Marbury was taken into custody at the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel on June 5, 2023.
Canada Border Services Agency officer Jeffrey Targachoff testified he had been briefed that Marbury planned to surrender that night.
Around 9 p.m., he spotted a blue Ford F-150 pulling up to the crossing, with Marbury in the passenger seat and his mother driving.
The truck was stopped before reaching the booth, heading back into Canada.
"As soon as I confirmed that it was Mr. Marbury, I called out his name, which he replied yes," Targachoff said.
Marbury was handcuffed at 9:08 p.m. and formally transferred to Windsor police custody at 9:11 p.m.
Const. Gary Grundner told the court he confirmed Marbury's identity with a Michigan driver's licence and advised him he was under arrest for first-degree murder.
Sgt. Fady Feghali, who was working in the detention unit, later testified that Marbury had blisters on the bottoms of his feet - injuries Marbury said he sustained from walking about a week earlier.
EMS later examined him and transported him to hospital, before returning him to police custody.
Marbury, a U.S. citizen from Michigan, has pleaded guilty to causing an indignity to a human body but not guilty to first-degree murder.
The trial is expected to resume Wednesday.