The spouse of the man behind the worst mass shooting in Canadian history took the stand for the first time at the Portapique Inquiry.
Lisa Banfield described when she met Gabriel Wortman and how their relationship moved quickly. They met in a bar and went on their first date soon after.
“He came with two dozen roses,” Bandfield explained. “I thought that was over the top and I didn’t really like that kind of thing.”
Banfield recalled their first date, Wortman picked her up and they were heading to a restaurant on Spring Garden Road when they were rear ended by a young female driver.
“I thought this is a good time to see his demeanor and what kind of character he has…and he [Wortman] got out and he approached the two young girls in the vehicle, and he was smiling and saying it was okay…I thought to myself…ok, he’s a good guy.”
Banfield was recently divorced and living with one of her sisters when she stared dating Wortman. After three months, the Dartmouth area denturist asked Banfield to move in with him.
They moved in together above Wortman’s denturist clinic on Portland Street, which was demolished earlier this year. Banfield began working at the clinic and “did everything except insert the dentures into a patient’s mouth.”
However, over the years, Banfield says she experienced emotional and physical abuse.
Wortman attacked her just shortly before he killed 22 people, she was able to escape and hid in woods, burrowing her body near the trunk of a tree.
“It was a huge tree that was down, and it had a big hole in it that I buried part of my body in,” Banfield explained. “And then I stayed there. Like, I could see the moon and everything. I am just trying to keep myself awake. I thought if I can just make it to the morning then I can crawl out and get help. While I’m there, I can hear shots, and I didn’t know what he was doing.”
Her medical records show she had fractures to her ribs and vertebrae. She was also found with scratches and abrasions on her hands, feet, and legs, and bruising to her upper back.
Her testimony will continue throughout the day on Friday.
