The life of a Calgary woman who suffered years of domestic violence and was ultimately murdered by her on-again, off-again partner of six years, could have been saved if a 911 operator had labelled the call as a request for help, a judge heard.
On Tuesday, Brandon Yellowfly, 27, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of his spouse, Autumn Crosschild.
Crosschild, 25, was beaten to death by Yellowfly in June 2022.
Details of the crime come from an agreed statement of facts read aloud by prosecutor Aleksandra Simic.
Court heard that over a seven-day period, between June 10 and 17, police were called to check on Crosschild several times.
Injuries were ‘potentially survivable’
On June 14, minutes after the fatal attack most likely occurred, the man who lived below Crosschild called 911 to report that he could hear his female neighbour being attacked and was concerned she would be murdered.
But the 911 dispatcher incorrectly labelled the call as a verbal disturbance, so when officers showed up and nobody answered their knocks, they left, believing they did not have grounds to forcibly enter the home.
At that time, Crosschild was likely inside, where she would remain for three days, dying of her potentially treatable injuries.
“There existed several potential lifesaving measures for the head injuries inflicted on Ms. Crosschild,” reads the agreed statement of facts.
“With immediate medical intervention, the injuries sustained by Ms. Crosschild were potentially survivable.”
Victim afraid she’d be killed
In the week leading to her death, Crosschild told her sister she wanted to leave her relationship but was scared she’d be killed by Yellowfly.
On June 10, one week before her death, Crosschild’s mother called police requesting a welfare check on her daughter.
During a meeting with police at a gas station, Yellowfly stood nearby as police spoke with Crosschild. She was upset but did not have any visible injuries.
She confirmed to police that she was OK and left with Yellowfly.
Ambulance called
On June 12, Crosschild called an ambulance for herself. On the phone, she said she had consumed alcohol but would give more details once EMS arrived.
Paramedics told police that Crosschild did not appear intoxicated.
Crosschild told medical staff that her boyfriend was hurting her. She was described by paramedics as anxious with pain in her liver and abdomen.
When Yellowfly turned up at the hospital, she locked herself in a bathroom. Then she left with her boyfriend before she could be examined.
Yellowfly got inside the home
The next day, Yellowfly called Crosschild’s sister and said he’d been kicked out of their shared home.
Over the next hour, he sent 15 text messages and called her 10 times.
“It feels like you are ready to leave me,” he wrote.
Within 20 minutes of the last phone call, Crosschild’s sister received a call from Yellowfly.
He was back inside Crosschild’s house and she was hiding in the bathroom.
“The two were arguing and she wanted him to leave,” according to the statement of facts.
‘Level of urgency unknown’
Crosschild told her sister not to come over. That was their last conversation.
Minutes later, in the early morning hours of June 14, that neighbour made his 911 call.
He told the operator that he believed a woman in the home above him was being attacked by her boyfriend and reported that he heard screams of “stop it” from her.
He “was concerned that she would be murdered,” according to the agreed statement of facts.
“Instead of a welfare check, the 911 dispatcher labelled the occurrence as a verbal disturbance and neglected to detail the full extent of the safety and welfare concerns as described by the neighbour,” reads the statement.
“The level of urgency was unknown to the responding police members.”
‘Incomplete information’
Police arrived at the home about 15 minutes later. As they approached the building, the lights in the couple’s unit were turned off. Nobody answered the knocks at the door. Police heard a man’s voice and the TV.
“Given the incomplete information supplied by the 911 dispatcher … it was believed the officers could not forcibly enter the residence.”
The police officers left.
The next day, Crosschild’s support worker tried to check on her but nobody answered the door.
Two days later, in the early morning hours of June 17, Crosschild’s uncle called police to report that nobody had heard from her in days and were unable to reach her.
‘Her last breath’
Police got in touch with Yellowfly, who told them Crosschild was fine, that her phone was not working and said she was probably sleeping. Yellowfly also told police he didn’t know where Crosschild lived.
He hung up.
Yellowfly would later tell police that he hung up because he thought Crosschild “may have been screaming a little bit.”
He also told officers this happened around the time Crosschild took “her last breath.”
Following that call, police showed up at Crosschild’s home but left again when nobody answered the door.
About five hours later, Yellowfly called 911 and reported his wife was dead.
Injuries covered her body
He said he believed someone had “slipped something in her drink.”
An autopsy determined that Crosschild suffered a brain bleed from multiple blunt force trauma as well as injuries to her head, face, legs, arms, shoulder, eyes, ankles, wrists, chest and torso.
In his interview with police, Yellowfly admitted attacking Crosschild.
He said he hit her head on a door frame when she tried to escape his abuse.
“When Ms. Crosschild attempted to leave the residence, he struck her and dragged her back inside,” reads the statement of facts.
“She was screaming, he told her to shut up and dragged her body into the bedroom.”
That’s where her body was discovered on June 17.
The medical examiner ruled that Crosschild’s fatal injuries occurred between 12 hours and four days before her death.
In the hours leading up to her death, Crosschild would have struggled to breathe, and while she would have been able to express pain, she would not have been able to move around.
Justice Allison Kuntz will hear sentencing arguments from Crown and defence later this year.