Andy Ivens
The Province
Gillian Guess attracted so much attention as a juror during a seven-month murder trial that court staff coined nicknames for the eye-catching subject.
The 42-year-old North Vancouver woman wore a "provocative" see-through blouse and short skirt and several times rested her foot on the low divider in front of the jurors' box, a deputy sheriff testified yesterday at her trial in B.C. Supreme Court.
Guess--who has her own Web site and has repeatedly talked about her case to a crowd of reporters outside the courtroom--is charged with obstructing justice by "having a personal relationship" with one of the six accused during the 1995 trial. All six were found not guilty.
Four deputy sheriffs took the witness stand yesterday, each describing the extraordinary behavior they saw going on between Guess and accused murderer Peter Gill, 30.
Daniel Ames said he and his fellow deputy sheriffs secretly referred to Guess as "the Dragon Lady" or "Elvira."
Responding to questions by defence counsel Marilyn Sandford, Ames admitted he mentioned the nicknames in a February 1996 interview with an RCMP officer investigating the obstruction allegation against Guess, who had a part-time job as a victims' counsellor for the North Vancouver RCMP.
"Did other jurors have nicknames?" asked Sandford.
"No," he replied.
Ames said he noticed "regular" eye contact between Guess, who sat in the front row of the jurors' box, and Gill.
He also described as "odd" Guess's manner of entering the courtroom, saying she often waited a moment after the juror ahead of her walked in to make an entrance, of sorts.
Ames said he noticed on a number of occasions that Gill would write something in his diary, then nudge fellow accused Mike Budai and show him his diary. Budai and Gill would then snicker and Budai would look up at Guess and smile.
Deputy sheriff Dawn Cox testified that Guess's attire and habits distracted her from her main duties of scanning the courtroom for possible security problems in the highly charged murder trial. Cox said Guess wore "provocative clothing," including a see-through blouse, short skirts and red high heels.
She said that on two or three occasions Guess put her foot up on the low divider in front of the jurors' box and left it there for 10 to 15 seconds. "I didn't feel it was proper," she said.
Cox said the courtroom interaction between Guess and Gill was so obvious that Gill's wife Gogo, a sister of fellow accused Bindy Johal, complained to her about them. Cox said she went to her superior twice with her concerns about the pair's behavior.
She also said she was present July 11 when Justice Tom Braidwood cautioned the six accused about making contact with jurors following a lunchtime incident at Robson Square, in which Gill and Guess allegedly smiled at each other.
The interaction between Guess and Gill "sort of cooled off after that, for about a month," said Cox.
"Then it commenced again."
Deputy sheriff Roger Phillips, who said he noticed the interaction between the two, said Guess complained to his superior about him and a fellow deputy.
"She felt that we were watching her," said Phillips, adding that he and his colleague were actually watching a juror behind Guess who appeared to be nodding off.
The trial continues today.
WHY THE GILLIAN GUESS CASE IS IMPORTANT
It's the first time a juror has been charged with influencing a trial's outcome by allegedly having an affair with one of the accused.
Also, the Crown is expected to chart new legal waters by calling six of Guess's fellow jurors at the 1995 murder trial. Normally, jurors are not allowed to reveal what went on inside the jury room.
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