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Fictitious crime boss faces cross-examination in Dean Penney's murder trial

Good morning, I'm Alex Kennedy, a digital reporter based in Corner Brook. I've been leading web coverage of the Dean Penney trial for the last few weeks.

Wednesday is another big day in the trial, as it's expected the cross-examination of Penney will take place today.

Penney is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his estranged wife, Jennifer Hillier-Penney. He has pleaded not guilty, and insisted throughout his testimony that he had nothing to do with her disappearance in 2016. Her body has never been found.

Dean Penney's fourth day of testimony — and all of the court's proceedings for Tuesday — lasted less than an hour.

It focused on elements of the second recorded interview Penney did with the undercover RCMP officer known as Rudy, who played the fictional crime boss of an organization Penney was working for. The interview happened on Dec. 8, 2023, in Edmonton.

Penney continued his narrative from Monday's testimony that the confessions he gave around Jennifer Hillier-Penney's death were false. Penney told the court on Tuesday that he was worried the crime boss found out he was lying, and that he needed to continue lying in order to protect himself.

"I was trying to spin a lie to get me out of that situation on the boat.… I just couldn’t remember a lot of the stuff that I was saying … because it was a fabricated story,” he said.

Penney said one of the key statements he gave, that he picked up a hammer (or mallet) that Hillier-Penney had fallen near, was a lie.

Penney's testimony ended with his response to a question from defence lawyer Mark Gruchy: "Did you have anything to do with the disappearance of your wife?" Penney replied "No, I did not."

Penney's examination is now complete. Cross-examination will begin on Wednesday, and it's expected that it could all be done in one day.

No further questions for Penney, which means proceedings are done for the day. Cross-examination will begin at 10 a.m. NT on Wednesday.

The court is now in recess for a short break. That feels like a good time to share a note on timelines for the rest of this week.

Justice Vikas Khaladkar tells the jury he expects cross-examination to begin on Wednesday, and he expects it to be done in one day.

After that, the court will adjourn on Wednesday and not sit on Thursday or Friday. There needs to be time to discuss the charge and prepare the instructions for the jury, he said.

Gruchy asks Penney about Morley Hillier, a friend of Jennifer Hillier-Penney (no relation).

Penney said he and Hillier have a history. He spoke of an incident around 2011 in which he believed Hillier stole bottles of wine and a pair of mittens from his home while working to fix Hillier-Penney’s snowmobile.

Hillier was a witness earlier in the trial. He told the court he had a conversation with Penney. Hillier said Penney told him Hillier-Penney was going to disappear.

Penney says that conversation never happened. 

Gruchy asks Penney what he says will be his final question:

"Did you have anything to do with the disappearance of your wife?"

"No, I did not," said Penney. 

Penney reiterates that he felt pressured by Rudy, and that he had to make up a story to get out of the situation.

"Every time he'd come up with something, I tried to make up something else to make it believable."

"I was just scared to death … kept trying to explain it away."

Penney is also asked about how he told the crime boss that when his wife fell down a set of stairs, there was a mallet next to her on the stairs.

In the interview, Rudy called Penney out on this, saying it didn’t seem likely. 

Penney said he had to work to make it make sense.

"Was that second statement a lie?" defence lawyer Mark Gruchy asked.

"A lie?" Penney responded. "Yes." 

Penney’s testimony is moving into the second of two interviews with the fake crime boss he knew as Rudy. It happened on Dec. 8, 2023, in Edmonton.

Penney was told it was to iron out the contract details for his new job as the captain of the crime boss’s yacht, but that Rudy also needed more information on Dean’s involvement in Jennifer Hillier-Penney’s death.

Penney said he didn’t expect that, and that he was scared to death that the man he knew as Rudy could harm him.

"I was trying to spin a lie to get me out of that situation on the boat… I just couldn’t remember a lot of the stuff that I was saying … because it was a fabricated story.”

At the end of his testimony on Day 3, Penney said he felt the need to make up a story to get out of the first interview.

The courtroom is open, and we’re ready to begin.

Penney backed up the claim from his lawyers during his testimony, saying he felt like he was backed into a corner and needed a way out.

"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.

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

Jury watches 1st part of interview where Dean Penney allegedly confessed to murder

Penney's testimony on Monday centred around the fear he said he felt during the first of two recorded interviews between himself and an undercover RCMP officer masquerading as a crime boss of the organization Penney was working with. The officer's identity is protected, and he can only be referred to as Rudy.

He spoke of how he tried to tell Rudy that he had nothing to do with Hillier-Penney's death, but said Rudy kept cutting him off and trying to steer him into a confession. Penney did confess to being involved in her death during that first interview, but his defence contends he was pressured into making a false confession.

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