A woman accused of shooting her husband as he was lying on a couch has testified that in the days before his death, his drug use was so bad she couldn't sleep and had become physically weak.
Deborah Doonanco, 53, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Kevin Feland in their home in the village of Glendon, Alta., in May 2014.
The prosecution has suggested that after shooting Feland twice, Doonanco set the house on fire to destroy the evidence.
The defence is arguing she suffered from battered woman syndrome and would have been killed if she hadn't defended herself.
On Thursday, Doonanco testified Feland used drugs every day that week and that the sound of his torch as he inhaled the crack cocaine and then his pacing around the house all night kept her awake.
She estimated she had slept maybe three and a half hours in the whole week.
"I couldn't eat, sleep, think, function, or talk to anyone," she told court in St. Paul, Alta. "I was so weak. I was sick of being sick."
She said she couldn't reach out for help because she feared what might happen.
"If he heard me say anything he'd say, 'do not start with me or you'll lose' so I didn't start anything. I just took it," she testified.
"He said he will find me. He will kill me. I am his property and always will be."
She also said he fired off a shot inside the house.
"It was the loudest noise I ever heard in my life," she said. "I could not move; I was never so scared in all my life."
She said she was upset and wanted to go lay down but Feland grabbed her and forced his hand into her mouth searching for the sleeping pills he believed she had taken.
Doonanco said she didn't call the police because they take a long time to come and Feland wasn't afraid of the law.
Court has been told the couple had been married and then divorced, but later reconciled.
(CHSP)
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