THUNDER BAY - The signing of a document stating an alleged extortion victim would purchase a house for Mary Voss was detailed by a witness who testified she was there, but defense council questioned the reliability of her memory of key events during that time.
Heli Kijanen was called to testify by the Crown on Day 6 of the extortion trial against former Thunder Bay mayor Keith Hobbs, his wife Marisa, and local resident, Voss.
During her testimony, Kijanen recalled events in October and November 2016, including being present at a luncheon with Keith and Marisa Hobbs, the victim, and Voss.
It was at this luncheon that an agreement was signed stating the victim would purchase a house for Voss, Kijanen said.
“(The victim) was reading the document and he was nervously fumbling through it and grumbling to himself,” she testified. “I’m not sure. Everybody else was still small talking and chitchat and whispering. Everyone seemed secure and confident that they were going to sign this document.”
Kijanen added that after the document was signed, there was talk around the table that there can be no mention of any criminal allegations against the victim.
“I myself was still very puzzled and confused,” Kijanen said. “I really wasn’t sure why (the victim) was buying a home. But it was something they all knew I guess. It just seemed to me like obviously something bad had happened and there was a cover up and he was going to buy a house and everyone was happy.”
Prior to the signing of the agreement, Kijanen testified there were several incidents where she overheard the victim speaking on the phone with Marisa and Keith Hobbs and times when Keith Hobbs would be shouting and threatening him to ‘pack his toothbrush.’
“Mr. Hobbs had said, ‘my ass is on the line here, I’m doing you a favour. This has to get done,’” Kijanen testified of an in-person conversation she witnessed between Hobbs and the victim.
When discussions of the price of the house began to increase to between $400,000 and $500,000, Kijanen testified the victim became angrier.
“I was just so shocked,” she said. “That is something you see in the movies.”
There was also an incident recalled when Kijanen accompanied Craig Loverin to the victim’s residence to pick up a USB drive, which contained videos of the victim acting erratically and using vulgar and offensive language, though Kijanen said she was not aware of the videos.
“There would be someone there with a USB stick, some type of evidence he needed to acquire,” she said. “I was just going with Craig to make sure nothing bad was happening.”
No one was at the residence at the time and Kijanen continued that Loverin received a phone call from Keith Hobbs.
“Hobbs called Craig and threatened him to leave the home immediately,” she added. “It was just yelling through the phone. To get the hell off the property immediately or he’ll call the cops.”
Kijanen also agreed during cross-examination that Loverin had documents in an envelope to be executed, with Brian Greenspan, council for Keith and Marisa Hobbs, suggesting she had typed them up for the victim, which she denied.
Witness memory questioned
During cross-examination by Greenspan, several parts of Kijanen’s testimony were called into question, including her ability to remember details of events in October and November 2016.
Greenspan pointed to Kijanen’s interview with a Detective Inspector with the Ontario Provincial police, whom she provided a statement to in March 2017.
While being interviewed by police, Kijanen said she did not know what happened on those dates in November because everything was ‘a frigging blur’ because she had been drinking at the time and was intoxicated.
“You have no idea what happened on the 19th and 20th,” Greenspan said. “How is it you recovered your memory so clearly?”
Kijanen replied by stating that it was quite simple and after thinking about certain things since they happened, an individual can start to regain their memory, but Greenspan did not agree.
“That’s because you reconstructed things in your mind,” he said.
Greenspan also asked Kijanen about other allegations against the victim and two individuals being offered money, to which she said she was aware.
“If they wanted the money, that is up to them,” Kijanen said. “They are grown adults.”
“What you did know is that (the victim) paid them off,” Greenspan said.
“Yes, I knew (the victim) gave them money,” Kijanen said.
During his opportunity to cross-examine Kijanen, Voss’s attorney, George Joseph also questioned her memory of that time.
“I’m a little confused about a comment about your memory,” Joseph said. “The quote was a frigging blur but then how things about it got better. Are your memories about this vague or crystal clear?”
“Some events are crystal clear but others are a blur,” Kijanen said.
Joseph then returned to a line of questioning he asked the alleged victim Monday morning and Voss’s role in the alleged extortion attempts.
“As far as you know, as far as you heard, from what you heard from Voss, is that she never asked (the victim) for a house,” Joseph asked.
“I can’t recall her ever asking for a house,” Kijanen responded.
