An emotionally charged day in Goderich Court.
Serena Benninger took the stand in Goderich Court on Tuesday — where she’s accused with Anthony Terpstra of counselling and conspiracy to kill Sheila Terpstra.
She started the day with a history of her marriage to Gerald Benninger and said he was very controlling and even physically abusive with her sometimes.
Serena also spoke of how she was sexually abused from the ages of eight to thirteen and never told anyone about it because she was worried no one would believe her… she said she just did what they wanted her to do.
She says she turned to alcohol about five years ago and came to rely on it so much that she needed to have a few drinks before meeting with the undercover police officer who posed as a hitman.
The officer testified in the first days of the trial that there was no evidence of Serena being under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Her relationship with Tony Terpstra began in 2004 after they attended a stag and doe of mutual friends.
Serena said it was Tony who decided that Sheila needed to be killed and he asked her to find someone that could do it.
She said she tried to talk him into just divorcing Sheila, but eventually ended up contacting Owen Curtis because she was worried Tony would be mad at her and she wanted to keep him happy.
When Terpstra’s lawyer David Humphries began his cross-examination, he suggested that Serena was just putting on an act for the jury and trying to make everyone think she was blameless.
She denied that and said she was only ever doing what Tony told her to do.
The trial continues.