It took a police dog about 20 minutes to locate the remains of a missing Elliot Lake man during a search four years ago in a wooded area not far from his apartment building.
The body of Joseph Topping was discovered on Feb. 14, 2018, a month after his mother had reported her 31-year-old son missing, a jury heard Wednesday during the first day of his accused killer's trial.
Brad Southwind has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in connection with the death of his best friend, which is alleged to have occurred between Dec. 27, 2017 and Feb. 14, 2018.
The trial is expected to take two to three weeks.
Assistant Crown attorneys Karen Pritchard and David Didiodato are prosecuting the case.
Defence lawyers Don Orazietti and Anthony Orazietti are representing Southwind.
On Wednesday, jurors heard from three Crown witnesses - Ontario Provincial Police officers - who were involved in various stages of the investigation.
Const. Joshua Dagg, who was stationed in Elliot Lake at the time, answered a call in early January 2018 from a woman who indicated she hadn't seen her son for a couple weeks and was concerned about his well-being.
The eight-year officer said he checked out Topping's apartment in a building at 149 Mississauga Ave. and wanted to speak to individuals who might have seen him.
He knocked on the door and it was open. He went inside to confirm whether Topping was present, needed assistance or was injured.
Topping wasn't there, but the apartment appeared dirty, Dagg said, indicating the officers closed the door when they left but didn't lock it.
He testified that he spoke to the OPP crime unit on Feb. 5, 2018, and found there had been no success in finding the missing man.
Dagg said he went back to the apartment to see if Topping had returned, and discovered it was unlocked and in a different condition because it appeared cleaner.
The officer told the court he locked the door, put a seal on it to find out whether it was Topping who was entering the apartment.
On Feb.14, after Topping's body was located, the missing person inquiry changed into a death investigation, he said.
Det. Steven Groot became involved in the investigation on Feb. 5.
Three days later, he spoke with the manager of the buildings in the apartment complex to determine the last time Topping had been seen on their video surveillance cameras.
He later received information about videos, covering time periods from Jan. 14 to Jan. 23.
Police also learned the building's residents each had key fobs for the exterior doors and each one was unique.
When the manager learned Topping was missing, she noticed Southwind was using the fob that had been assigned to Topping, the court heard.
Investigators also learned Topping, who was schizophrenic, had picked up his medication at a local pharmacy on two dates in December, but failed to get his prescription on Jan. 4, 2018.
On Feb. 13, Groot returned to the complex to get statements from Southwind, who had an apartment in the same building as Topping, and three other individuals.
The 16-year officer said he had been told Southwind was a close personal friend of the missing man and he wanted to find out if he had any information about Topping.
"He was just a witness at this time," Groot said.
Southwind agreed to provide a statement, which was recorded.
He was not given his right to counsel or cautioned because he wasn't considered a person of interest and at that time this was a missing person investigation, the detective said.
Things changed after Topping's body was discovered on Feb. 14 and a post mortem found multiple stab wounds on the body.
Southwind was "now identified as a suspect in the death," Groot said.
On March 1, he agreed to provide a statement and was taken to the Elliot Lake OPP detachment, where he was interviewed.
Const. Barry Kelly is a K9 handler stationed at the Sault Ste. Marie detachment.
The 27-year OPP officer and Dance, his search and rescue dog, were involved in the Feb. 14 search for Topping.
Dance had tracked for about 70 metres when Kelly saw the black lab lift his nose up near a swamp.
"He started digging at something," the officer said, adding he was very surprised how quickly the body had been located.
The trial continues today at the Sault courthouse.