Pry bar linked to accused

The manager of a local Canadian Tire store verified a transaction record that indicates the accused in a murder trial bought a pry bar believed to be connected in the case.

Judy Stirling, manager of the Canadian Tire store on Smythe Street, testified Friday in the first-degree murder trial of Abdul Bari.

Abdul Bari, 36, of Fredericton, is accused of killing his estranged wife, 26-year-old Shaila Bari, on July 16, 2003.

Reading from the transaction that was entered into evidence earlier in the jury trial, Stirling said the Mastercraft pry bar was sold July 15, 2003, at 3:28 p.m.

She said it was paid for with a debit card. She read the bank account number associated with it. The price of the pry bar was $17.99.

Also purchased in the same transaction was a pair of pliers, priced at $9.99.

The product number on the pry bar - 570531-2 - matched the one on the transaction record.

Abdul Bari's banking information hasn't been introduced into evidence yet.

Crown prosecutor Hilary Drain said in her opening statement Tuesday that the Crown would prove he purchased the pry bar.

The prosecution has not indicated whether or not the pry bar is the murder weapon. There was evidence that it could have been used to gain access to Shaila Bari's apartment.

A police officer testified earlier in the week that a search of the accused's home turned up a pry bar identical to the one found near the crime scene.

Stirling said the store has only been carrying that specific brand of pry bar since September 2002. She also pointed out that Mastercraft tools cannot be purchased at other chains.

"It's an exclusive product to Canadian Tire. It's our brand name."

She told defence lawyer Randy Maillet that the bar found near the crime scene was the one purchased July 15, 2003.

Furthermore, she said, the pry bar is sold at all Canadian Tire stores, including two others in the greater Fredericton area.

Danny Smith, an investigator with Rogers Wireless based in Quebec, testified that Shaila Bari's cellphone records indicate no calls were placed from her cellphone between July 16-22, 2003, inclusive. No calls were answered on that phone during that period, either.

Robert Reid, an official with Aliant Telecom's security group, testified about the digital records of the last calls placed, answered and missed on the victim's cellphone.

The numbers and times matched what previous witnesses said about their calls to Shaila Bari's cellphone.