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Former teacher's murder trial gets underway

Two years after she was first charged with her common-law husband's death, former elementary school teacher Deborah Doonanco's trial for second-degree murder began in St. Paul Courthouse last Tuesday.

Two years after she was first charged with her common-law husband's death, former elementary school teacher Deborah Doonanco's trial for second-degree murder began in St. Paul Courthouse last Tuesday.

As the trial commenced, in a clear, but quiet voice, the 53-year-old Doonanco responded that she was not guilty to all three charges she is facing, including one count of second degree murder, a charge of recklessly or intentionally causing fire to her Glendon home, and a third charge of indecently interfering with remains by lighting them on fire, in relation to the May 25, 2014 fire which claimed the life of 44-year-old Kevin Feland.

The Crown contends that Doonaco killed her common-law husband by shooting him twice in the chest while he was lying on the couch, and then lit the area around the couch on fire; when witnesses appeared on the scene, said the Crown, she tried to convince them she was not at fault.

In Crown prosecutor Dallas Sopko's opening remarks, he noted that Doonanco and Feland both grew up in the small town of Glendon, dating in the 1990s, followed by marriage.

“There was clearly physical abuse in the first stage of the relationship,&” said Sopko, who noted the pair divorced in 2000. They rekindled their relationship in 2013, but it was not all smooth sailing, as he noted, “You will hear there was drug use in the home,&” with Feland described as a user of crack cocaine.

Sopko said the Crown would attempt to paint an accurate picture of the relationship in its second stage, followed by showing a depiction of Doonanco's behavior following the fire, including how she plead for people's help getting Feland out of the house, even though she knew he was dead, how she removed a spent shell casing and threw it away in Bonnyville's hospital garbage, and how she told a friend how she had stashed a rifle that she had used to kill him.

Sopko noted that Feland struggled with drug addiction and had a history of violence, but said, “it does not mean he deserved to die or that it was lawful for someone to kill him.&”

Defence lawyer Brian Beresh referred to his client as Debbie, saying she would take the stand to tell the jury herself about the physical and mental abuse she suffered at the hands of Feland.

“He was out of control. His drug use was off the scale. He threatened to kill her,&” he said, adding that photos show her injuries and bruises in the wake of the fire and Feland's death. “Mr. Feland would have killed Debbie had she not prevented it.&”

Feland not only threatened Doonanco, but also threatened to kill her parents, who lived nearby, said Beresh. Over the years, Feland had slapped her, struck her, choked her and otherwise physically and mentally abused her, said Beresh, who said that Feland took advantage of the fact that Doonanco sought help to deal with her depression in 2012 to make his way back into her life after their divorce in 2000.

She agreed to let him move into her home in Glendon, provided he had changed his life, and was not using drugs or exhibiting violence. However, the violence started again, and when Doonanco asked him to leave the house, even offering him money to do so, he refused, according to her lawyer.

Beresh contended Feland told her, “I'm going to stay here; you can't throw me out and I'm going to make your life a living hell.&”

Beresh said he would be calling an expert witness to testify on battered woman syndrome, which includes anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress.

Tuesday's St. Paul Journal will offer more coverage from the trial as it progresses over the next few weeks.

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