Blue truck seen driving towards area where Alex Norwegian's body was found, RCMP testify in Levi Cayen trial

Hours after an alleged attack on Alex Norwegian, a blue truck was caught on surveillance video driving toward the remote area where his body would later be found.

That evidence was presented to the jury in Levi Cayen's first degree murder trial Thursday, during the cross-examination of Sgt. Eric Lane. Lane is the former head of the RCMP's Major Crimes Unit which investigated Norwegian's death in December 2017 and January 2018.

Levi Cayen and his co-accused James Thomas are alleged to have beaten 25-year-old Norwegian on a remote road outside of Hay River in the early morning hours ofDec.27, 2017. Norwegian's frozen body was discovered inside a vehicle the next day.

Defence lawyer Alan Regel alleged earlier in the trial that Thomas and Tyler Cayen drove in a blue truck to where Norwegian was parked and beat him a second time. Tyler Cayen denied that allegation.

Last week, Tyler Cayentestified that he was with James Thomas and Levi Cayen the night they drove a snowmobileto the remote road where Norwegian was parked, and attacked him.

In January 2019, Tyler Cayen was sentenced to just under two years in jail for being an accessory after the fact to manslaughter in connection with Norwegian's death.

Surveillance Video

During his testimony, Sgt. Eric Lane told the court that police seized a surveillance video from the Ehdah Cho Store on theK'atl'odeecheFirst Nation that showed a blue truck driving toward a turn off to the remote road where Norwegian's body was later found.

Lane was questioned about whether he initially thought the truck seen on the video was one owned by James Thomas's girlfriendthat Thomasoften used.

"That was the theory at the time," Lane answered.

Lane then said that theory was abandoned once Levi Cayen told them that he and Thomas had driven a snowmobile to attack Norwegian. Police later found blood stains on a white and orange snowmobile belonging to James Thomas.

Lane told the court that the quality of the surveillance video made it difficult to determine what make or model the truck was.

When asked by Regel why the video wasn't sent for further examination by forensic specialists, Lane said he didn't believe it "would have been even close to being successful."

Cell phone not seized

In his initial testimony, Lane had told the court that the officer that had arrested Tyler Cayen at his home in January 2018had mentioned that he saw him throw an object in a closet before Cayen walked out the door.Lane testified that the officer told him it looked like a cell phone.

When asked by Regel if anofficerhad gone to try and locate the object, Lane said he couldn't recall.

Tyler Cayen testified earlier that police never asked him for his cell phone. In cross-examination, Lane said Tyler Cayen told them he had thrown a headlamp and his neck warmer back into his home before being arrested. Lane also said that RCMP requested a copy of Tyler Cayen's cell phone records from Northwestel.

Regel asked Lane if his team ever investigated the possibility of the blue truck being used in a second attack on Norwegian.

"There was nothing to suggest that in the investigation," Lane told the court.

Visibly shocked, Regel brought up the surveillance video to which Lane replied "that could have been any kind of truck."

Lane also testified that Levi Cayen's statement to police had corroborated what police knew about Norwegian's injuries, specifically ligature marks on his neck and wrists.

No word on if Levi Cayen or James Thomas will be called to testify.