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Crown questions testimony that murder suspect was domestic abuse victim

Cross-examination of suspect in wife's death

CALGARY — The Crown is attempting to poke holes in the testimony of a man who has admitted to strangling his wife in their Calgary home after suffering years of domestic abuse.

Allan Shyback, 40, is charged with second-degree murder and causing an indignity to a body in the death of Lisa Mitchell, 31, who was last seen alive in October 2012.

An undercover "Mr. Big'' sting operation was launched in 2013 and ended with Shyback's confession and arrest in Winnipeg a year later.

On the witness stand, Shyback detailed a number of domestic abuse instances during their almost 10-year relationship and said he was protecting himself from an attack when Mitchell died.

Crown prosecutor Jayme Williams has suggested that Shyback experienced only one abusive encounter and noted that there had been no mention of any other cases until Shyback took the witness stand.

Shyback also acknowledged that when he was recovering from an illness in 2012, he received much of his care from Mitchell and that she had saved his life.

 

The Canadian Press