ESTEVAN, Sask. — Taylor Morgan Japp spent two days on the witness stand in his own defence on Sept. 28 and 29, talking about what happened prior, during and after the shooting death of Briana Hayes.
Japp is charged with second-degree murder in Hayes death in April 2024 at the White Bear First Nations. Both Hayes and Japp were residents of Oxbow at the time. A lengthy trial started Sept. 2 in Estevan Court of Kings' Bench. The prosecution rested its case on Sept. 21. The defence called its first witness three days later.
Fielding questions from defence attorney Thomas Hynes on Sept. 28, Japp shared his recollections of the night that Hayes was fatally shot and the events that occurred the following day. Japp's comments often contrasted evidence from prosecution witnesses earlier in the trial.
When he arrived at the White Bear residence where the shooting occurred early on April 24, 2024, Japp said several people were inside, including Hayes and two masked men. He told the court one of the masked men shot and killed Hayes. At one time, he said he thought he knew the identity of the shooter.
He also claimed he was unarmed when he entered the residence.
Japp and another man were then forced to drive and dump Hayes' body. It was located inside an outhouse on White Bear.
Japp became emotional a couple of times while on the stand, and said he lied to police while providing his statement because of what he saw and heard that night.
Japp also addressed one witness' claims that Japp admitted to her that Japp shot and killed Hayes. Japp denied the claims. But text messages were presented in evidence in which Japp said Hayes "deserved to die" after he said Hayes sold a firearm and then stole the firearms back, along with some meth.
During the cross-examination on Sept. 29, Belanger spent several hours attacking Japp's testimony. He cited numerous examples of when Japp lied to police during Japp's interview after the shooting. Japp repeatedly said he lied to police.
Belanger also noted that Japp had more communication with Hayes on April 23, 2024, than Japp initially indicated. The prosecutor said there were nine phone calls and a text message – the last one coming in just before Japp left Regina.
He questioned Japp's account of the shooting itself, including why Japp arrived at the residence in White Bear unarmed when Japp knew it was going to be "a serious situation". Belanger also questioned the existence of the masked men, and pointed out that Japp did not see one of the men shoot Hayes.
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