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Penney has pleaded not guilty in the death and disappearance of his estranged wife, Jennifer Hillier-Penney. She's been missing since Nov. 30, 2016, and her body has never been found.

Once Penney’s testimony is complete, the Crown will cross-examine him.

The courtroom is expected to open for the day around 10 a.m. NT.

Dean Penney tells court he felt forced by sting to 'make up a story'

What was supposed to be a full day in court turned into a half-day, with Penney taking to the witness box around 2:45 p.m. NT. He has pleaded not guilty in the death of his estranged wife, Jennifer Hillier-Penney. Her body has never been found.

Much of his testimony on Monday focused on the fear Penney said he felt during the first of two recorded interviews between himself and the undercover RCMP officer masquerading as a crime boss. 

It was presented to Penney as a job interview, but also an opportunity for Penney to talk about any involvement he had in Hillier-Penney's death and disappearance. During those interviews, Penney originally denied involvement in his wife's death, but later spelled out details like how she died and where he hid her body.

Throughout the conversation, Penney said he felt it shift from interview to interrogation. That scared him, he said, as he believed he was face to face with a very powerful person who could harm him. Even though he was given multiple chances to leave, Penney said he feared what could happen if he chose to leave given what he knew about the fictitious criminal operation.

Penney spent the first portion of the conversation trying to tell the undercover officer he had nothing to do with Hillier-Penney's death. However, he said the crime boss kept cutting him off and was trying to lead Penney to say he was somehow involved.

"He didn’t want me to say that I had nothing to do with it. He wanted me to say what he wanted to hear," Penney said.

Penney said there were times when he felt backed into a corner, and that the fear he felt drove him to try and find a way out of the situation.

"All that was really going through my mind was how to make up a story that would sound like it could be true," Penney said.

His testimony will resume on Tuesday at 10 a.m. NT. It's unclear how much longer defence lawyer Mark Gruchy intends to continue his questioning of Penney, but cross-examination from the Crown is also still to come.

And that’s where Dean Penney’s testimony will end for the day. He’ll return to the witness box for a fourth day of testimony at 10 a.m. NT Tuesday.

As the conversation went on, Penney said, he continuously felt he was being backed into a corner.

"I was overcome with everything.… I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know where to turn," Penney said.

Penney said he felt the conversation move from interview to interrogation, and told the court he felt he needed a way out.

"All that was really going through my mind was how to make up a story that would sound like it could be true."

Penney says he was trying to affirm he had nothing to do with Jennifer Hillier-Penney’s disappearance. This prompted reaction from members of her family, with some showing signs of frustration.

The next part of Gruchy's questioning centres around a memo that the crime boss showed Penney during the first interview.

The memo was a fake document created by Rudy to look like an official RCMP memo. The memo said police were close to arresting Penney in his estranged wife's death based on evidence they had, and that officers should be prepared for the national media attention his arrest would garner.

Penney read the document on board the yacht. He said he was upset by it, as he feared he was going to be arrested for something he didn’t do. He questioned what the evidence to "make me look guilty" was.

Penney said he continued to tell Rudy that he was innocent, and that Rudy wasn’t having it. Gruchy read a section of the transcript that backs that up, as Penney told Rudy he was being "as honest as I can be."

Rudy told the court during his own testimony that the interview is a voluntary process. If Penney felt pressure or wanted to leave, Rudy said he could do so.

Penney said he didn’t feel that there was a way out. He feared what could have happened if he left the interview, especially given his knowledge of the organization.

"If I tried to leave that dock, knowing what I knew, I felt that I was probably putting my life in jeopardy."

Throughout the conversation with Rudy, Penney said, he felt like Rudy wasn’t giving him space to declare his innocence.

"He would just stop me and cut me off," Penney said.

"He didn’t want me to say that I had nothing to do with it. He wanted me to say what he wanted to hear."

Penney said he felt fearful, and that Rudy was trying to forcibly put thoughts in his head.

Penney and Gruchy pivot to conversations Penney and the crime boss had about lies.

Penney said he believed the crime boss, known by the pseudonym Rudy, wanted trustworthy people. Penney said he felt Rudy was someone he couldn’t lie to. 

This is backed up by the transcript of the interview. When Penney is asked by Rudy who the one person he can’t lie to is, Penney responds, "You."

Questions around the first recorded interview begin. The interview took place on Nov. 30, 2023, aboard a yacht in Vancouver.

Penney tells the court he believed the interview with the crime boss was a job interview.

Gruchy asks Penney if he was aware the crime boss didn’t like him before the interview. Crown attorney Shawn Patten objects, calling it a leading question. The jury briefly left the room so the legal teams and the judge could talk it out, and proceedings resumed after about two minutes.

When things resumed, Penney said he believed the crime boss wasn’t going to give him the job because he thought he might not like him.

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