Lethbridge, Alta. — Dar Heatherington wanted the police probe into her alleged stalker kept very, very quiet — but that secrecy apparently didn't register with her husband.
Dave Heatherington spilled the stalker story along with security details to his downstairs tenant, court heard Tuesday.
Dar Heatherington is on trial in provincial court on a charge of public mischief for allegedly fabricating tales of being stalked.
The city alderwoman was charged last spring shortly after she made international headlines when she disappeared in Montana while on council business only to reappear days later dazed and confused in Las Vegas.
In court Tuesday, Ryan Tessier testified he was attending the University of Lethbridge when he moved into the Heatherington home in the fall of 2002.
Around that time, court has heard, Dar Heatherington went to police saying she was being stalked. The stalking, she said, began with friendly phone calls that became obscene notes dropped off at the family home.
Police put undercover officers on Dar Heatherington and placed video cameras at the family home.
Dar Heatherington had asked that the entire affair be kept quiet, but Mr. Tessier said Dave Heatherington told him about the security cameras and an internal alarm system at the home.
"I was aware of the camera. Dave told me — not too long after it was done," he said.
Mr. Tessier told court he was questioned by police about what was going on in the Heatherington household. He told them he was not the stalker.
Court has heard Dave Heatherington took fervid interest in his wife's stalker case, to the point where police found him a nuisance.
Dave Heatherington came to police shortly after the stalking began to say he believed his wife was hiding something and might be having an affair because she was starting to buy sexy lingerie and because their sex life was improving.
The Lethbridge firefighter called police to point out possible suspects.
He was concerned about the positioning of the hidden camera in the front porch and later fixed it on his own.
He complained about the look of one of the undercover police vehicles keeping watch over their home.
"I thought he was a bit of a pest," police Staff Sgt. Darcie James testified earlier in the trial.
Court heard Dar Heatherington herself was concerned.
When police came to interview her about the latest stalker letter in December, they said she tried to hurry them out the door.
"She wasn't herself, meaning that she seemed rushed," said Sgt. Ray White who is now retired.
"She wanted me in and out before Mr. Heatherington arrived home."
White said Dave Heatherington found out anyway.
"He was upset his wife had received another letter and couldn't figure out why she hadn't told him."
Dave Heatherington has also provided key evidence against his wife. He turned over to police a computer disk and Palm Pilot containing stalker letters similar to those sent to Dar Heatherington. One of the letters has Dar Heatherington's trademark spelling mistakes.
Those have been admitted into evidence at the trial before Judge Peter Caffaro.
Dar Heatherington faces a maximum five years in prison and expulsion from city council if convicted.
Her disappearance in the United States sparked a massive manhunt that was covered in news stories across North America. Once found in Las Vegas, she claimed she had been abducted and sexually assaulted.
She recanted that story after being charged with lying to police. She struck a plea deal with authorities there and won't face a criminal record in the U.S. if she keeps the peace and seeks counselling.
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