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Dean Penney took to the witness box for his second day of testimony at his first-degree murder trial on Friday. 

Penney is accused of killing his estranged wife, Jennifer Hillier-Penney, who disappeared on Nov. 30, 2016. It's up to the jury to decide whether the murder was planned and deliberate.

Penney spoke Friday of the fictitious crime organization he was brought into by undercover officers of the RCMP as they sought a confession, and kept coming back to how intimidated and scared he felt.

What he saw and heard was heavy, he said, and he often felt stress and unease. While he did say he felt comfortable around those he worked the closest with, he also knew they were "shady dealers."

Police officers went deep to build a world around Penney, putting him in several different staged scenarios. Penney outlined one of them on Friday, speaking of how he was brought to a military base in Alberta and met by armed guards in uniform who handed over a crate of unknown materials for them to transport. Penney also told the court of an instance in which he saw dozens of Glock handguns being unloaded, which he said added to the tension he felt.

Part of the intimidation Penney said he felt was because of Rudy, the RCMP officer playing the criminal organization's boss. The defence will attempt to show Penney felt pressure when dealing with Rudy, and it played a role in a pair of confessions Penney's lawyers contend were false.

Rudy had limited meetings with Penney before they were together in Vancouver aboard an organization-owned yacht. Penney cooked for the group and worked around Rudy's yacht, hoping to become its next captain.

As part of the job interview process, Rudy and Penney sat down for a conversation on Nov. 30, 2023. The court has already heard that recorded conversation, in which Penney confessed to involvement in Jennifer Hillier-Penney's death. Penney initially said Hillier-Penney fell over the stairs during an argument, and he disposed of her body. He'd later say he hit her over the head with a hammer after she fell.

Those conversations will be the subject of testimony when trial resumes on Monday morning. 

Following that commentary, Gruchy told Justice Vikas Khaladkar his next line of questioning is about the crime boss interviews. Those interviews are between Penney and Rudy, in which he confessed to his involvement in Jennifer Hillier-Penney's death. The defence contends the confession is false.

More time is needed to dive into those questions, and as a result, court has been adjourned until Monday morning. Penney will remain on the stand when court resumes at 10 a.m. NT on Monday.

Mark Gruchy asked Penney about his connection to Rudy. Penney said they had limited connections before their time on the boat, and he had heard from his friends in the organization that Rudy was a serious man.

Rudy was a key witness in court earlier in the trial. Rudy told the court he had played the role of a crime boss at least a dozen times across his policing career, and that the role is designed to portray respect as opposed to fear.

Rudy testified that Penney was given multiple opportunities to leave the group if he felt scared or intimidated. If Penney showed that, Rudy said he worked to make sure he understood why and correct it.

The first initiation was Penney working around the boat in Vancouver. He cooked for them, and was told the crime boss was impressed. 

The opportunity for Penney to become captain was a staged part of the operation. The plan was for the crime boss's former captain, an undercover officer Penney knew as Ryan, to take the fall for Jennifer Hillier-Penney’s death. Penney was told Ryan had fallen ill.

Penney said he was debating declaring bankruptcy. He said he had so much money put into his properties that he couldn’t see himself letting the bank take it, so he wanted to keep trying.

This is around the same time the RCMP — posing as a criminal enterprise — offered him a job as a boat captain in Vancouver. Penney says this income would have solved all his problems.

Penney says they took him to Vancouver and put him aboard the yacht to see what he could do. 

Penney is speaking about his relationship with his father. He says they shared their fishing revenue 50/50. He said his father has suffered three strokes, including one since Penney was arrested.

He said his father had also suffered "harassment" since Jennifer Hillier-Penney disappeared. 

Penney's testimony has resumed.

We’ve taken a short break. Much of the testimony in the last few minutes focused on Penney's finances, including his 2023 tax return being introduced as an exhibit, and commitments he had as a fisherman to providing fish to a local seniors home.

Court will resume shortly.

Defence lawyer Mark Gruchy pivots to asking Penney about his time in the fishery, and how he didn’t qualify for unemployment insurance after a slow season in 2023.

It meant Penney needed to find a way to make money and keep up-to-date on his bills. On Thursday, Penney said the support from the organization was a much needed financial boost.

"I was basically broke," Penney said, "I was down and out … [my financial situation] was declining rapidly."

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