Husband of Andrea Giesbrecht, accused of concealing infant remains, didn't notice pregnancies

The husband of Andrea Giesbrecht, the Winnipeg woman accused of concealing the remains of six infants in a storage locker, testified at her trial today that he didn't notice his wife was pregnant multiple times.

Jeremy Giesbrecht said Wednesday that he only found out his wife was pregnant with their first son on the day he was born. He said he did know his wife was pregnant with their younger son.

"She didn't tell me she was pregnant," he said, adding that the lower region of her stomach seemed bigger during sex.

The 42-year-old mother of two has been charged with six counts of concealing bodies after the remains were discovered in a U-Haul storage locker in October 2014. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of two years. Giesbrecht is being tried in front of a judge alone in provincial court in Winnipeg.

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He described their relationship as being "off and on" for many years. When asked about their current relationship, he said they are still married butthe family situation is difficult.

Earlier in the trial, an obstetrics and gynecology expert testified that Giesbrecht was pregnantat least 18 times between the ages of 20 and 38. On Wednesday, court heard from Gayle Martens of Manitoba Health who testified that Giesbrecht had nine legally induced abortions and one "unspecified" abortion between the ages of 20 and 37, according to claims submitted to Manitoba Health.

She also had miscarriages and a "menstrual disorder," Martens said.

Husband aware of 9 abortions

Her husband told court that he was aware his wife had nine abortions, but did not know about the eight other pregnancies.

When asked by the judge how many pregnancies he told police he knew about, the man said he told officers he knew about four but after viewing his statement to police, he clarified that he told the officers she had two abortions.

Throughout the trial, witnesses have noted that the accused usually wore baggy clothing. When asked how his wife dressed, her husband loudly said, "Boring, boring, boring."

He also testified that he had a vasectomy in 2011, but said it was never confirmed to be successful because he didn't go to a followup appointment. He added he can't be sure that he was the only man who might have conceived a child with his wife.

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Jeremy Giesbrecht is the biological father of the infants found in the locker, according to earlier testimony from a forensic biologist.

The forensic biologist also testified that she compared DNA from the infants to a sample collected from a soiled sanitary napkin presumed to contain Andrea Giesbrecht'sDNA. Although experts have said it's very likely the infants were hers, defence lawyer Greg Brodsky has asked throughout the trial about other women staying at the Giesbrecht home and whether they would have access to the Giesbrechts' master bathroom.

The prosecutor asked Jeremy Giesbrecht if he had sex with a list of specific women. The witness called the question intrusive but saidhe did not have sex with any woman other than his wife between 1999 and 2014.

Aware of his wife's affair

He said he was "traumatized" after the man his wife was having an affair with came to their house "many years ago."

On Tuesday, court was told the accused had a long-term affair with a man who worked at a casino she frequented. Casino employee, Lyn Burdett, testified that in 2005, Giesbrecht looked about six months pregnant and claimed the other man was the baby's father. She later said she lost the baby, Burdett said.

When asked to describe the relationship between his wife and the other man, Jeremy Giesbrecht responded: "Someone who is raping and blackmailing someone, I don't believe is a relationship."

The prosecutor asked why he wouldn't report that to police, but the witness did not answer the question and the Crown moved on to other questions.

• Andrea Giesbrecht, accused of concealing infant remains, had long-term affair, court hears

Friend shocked about abortions

One of the accused's friends also testified today. Liezl Collins called Giesbrecht a good friend and said she often drove her to appointments and even to her storage lockers, but she said she was "floored" to find out about multiple abortions and what was in her friend's storage locker.

Collins and Giesbrecht were friends and often went for coffee and worked together as residential care workers with Dasch-Direct Action In Support Of Community Homes. Collins said they also used to go to the casino together, until they were banned, and Giesbrecht is the godmother of her child.

Despite the closeness, Collins said she had no idea that Giesbrecht had multiple abortions.

"That completely floored me. I had no clue," she said.

Collins also said she had no idea that she was listed as the emergency contact for Giesbrecht when she had abortions. Collins testified that she often drove Giesbrecht around, but she picked her up at a corner and "not a medical place."

Items moved to another locker

In 2013, Giesbrecht had to move her belongings to a locker at U-Haul because she hadn't made her payments at Sentinel Self Storage in Winnipeg, court heard. Collins said she offered to help her friend, but Giesbrecht moved the items on her own.

When asked what was in the locker, Collins testified that Giesbrecht told her she had a few boxes of "her dad's things."

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On Monday, the storage facilities operations manager with Sentinel Self Storage testified that Giesbrecht first rented a locker in 1999. She said she was storing things she couldn't keep at home like jewelry.

Her husband testified that he wasn't aware of either storage locker.

The trial continues on Thursday with the defence cross-examination of the husband.

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