'He needed help, he was suicidal': Mother of slain girl testifies in David Moss trial

Melissa Desrosiers holds up a drawing her seven-year-old daughter drew for the family friend.

The mother of a seven-year-old girl killed in an Edmonton home told court on Wednesday she brought the killer to her home before the attack because she was worried he would take his own life.

Melissa Desrosiers, 37, answered questions about her friendship with David Moss, 36, the man charged with second-degree murder in the May 2020 death of Bella Desrosiers.

Desrosiers grew up in the same small town as Moss. After her husband Ben died by suicide, she went to Moss' shop to get a memorial tattoo.

Approximately a year later, Moss killed Bella in the family's home.

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Moss pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and is seeking a ruling that he's not criminally responsible.

Desrosiers told court she decided to help Moss because he was suicidal.

"My fear was he would kill himself and he had a family, and I didn't want a loss for another family that I had," she said through tears from another room in the courthouse with support workers and a therapy dog alongside her.

Desrosiers was not asked about the fatal attack during her testimony.

"In the room, at one point, I was swearing and screaming at him, 'Why?' He said, 'I'm doing this for Ben.'"

The trial will continue Thursday morning.

With files from David Ewasuk and The Canadian Press