A woman who says she had her tooth pulled and saw her boyfriend’s finger cut off during two alleged kidnappings described her experiences to a courtroom Monday as “pure hell.”
Kyle Truong, who also goes by the name Tho Quach, appeared at the Superior Court of Justice in Thunder Bay Monday to continue his trial. Police charged Truong with with numerous kidnapping and assault offences after an incident at a Cumberland Street motel.
During the 2010 investigation, police officers said a 45-year-old-man was kidnapped, held against his will and viciously assaulted in a motel room.
Truong has pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and forcible confinement to incidents that happened in 2009, but pleaded not guilty to four other charges of forcible confinement, aggravated assault, use of a firearm and kidnapping.
Assistant Crown Attorney Deb Kinsella called Christina Gawronski to the stand to give her account on what happened during those two incidents.
Gawronski, who has lived in Thunder Bay all her life, told the court that she started using cocaine when she was 19-years-old. She found herself using the drug more heavily after staying away from it for 12 years, explaining that she wanted to feel numb after losing her father and escape financial troubles.
The court heard how Gawronski relied on a single drug dealer who she later started to date.
From there she started to help him sell drugs. She said she would frequently get calls from someone who she later found out was Truong.
Gawronski told the court that the accused, Truong, and another man kidnapped and assaulted her and her boyfriend. The first incident happened in September 2009 at the Kingsway hotel where she said Truong cut off her boyfriend’s finger.
“They pinned him down and cut his finger off. They cut off his finger flat out,” Gawronski said during her courtroom testimony.
“We were told not to tell anyone or we would be killed. We walked home with the finger in a bag. I’ve been through pure hell.”
A few months later in January, she said Truong and two other men placed both Gawronski and her boyfriend in hockey bags and drove them to a house.
Gawronski told the court that Truong was upset that people were talking about his brother being a cop.
Gawronski said Truong pulled out one of her teeth to get her boyfriend to talk. When that failed to get results, the court heard how the accused pointed a gun at Gawronski’s head.
“It was the first time I’ve had a gun to my head and hopefully the last,” she said.
She said she didn’t want to report any of what happened to the police because she was scared for her life.
She added that both times she was tied up using duct tape.
Truong’s lawyer, Peter Thorning, attacked the witness’ credibility. During cross examination , the lawyer questioned Gawronski’s motives when she was allegedly kidnapped a second time.
Instead of a kidnapping, he suggested that she went along with Truong and the other men willingly in hopes of getting more cocaine.
“You got into the car because you wanted cocaine,” Thorning said.
Thorning also brought up the fact that Gawronski has a previous criminal record and lied to police officers in regards to how she lost her tooth.
The trial continues Tuesday.
