Myra Southwind said she spoke with the Ontario Provincial Police after learning about what had happened to Joseph Topping and realizing Brad played a role in his best friend’s death. The 31-year-old man’s body was discovered in a wooded marshy area behind his apartment building on Mississauga Avenue on February 14, 2018. He had been stabbed 17 times. The accused’s mother was the first witness called by defense lawyer Don Orazietti after the Crown rested its case last week. Southwind, 27, has pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder. Orazietti showed the woman a document, dated June 6, 2018, which she said was “about me cooperating with the police.” Her house was “wired” to get video and audio recordings and make Brad “confess”. Myra testified that her son was being treated for schizophrenia in 2018 and was receiving a shot that was supposed to last for a month, but only lasted two to three weeks. She said when she saw him in January and February she noticed “different personalities” and the different ways he walked and talked. The court heard she gave him sage for a smudge – “a way of praying and asking the creator to cleanse himself”. Brad needed it “to clean his house and himself. A lot of the voices he was hearing bothered him.” Myra said he was diagnosed in his early teens while living with her mother. “He had a lot of mental health issues,” she told Orazietti, wiping tears from her eyes. He described how he tried to help him when he was growing up, “but all they did was give him medicine.” In 2017-2018, Brad was using over-the-counter drugs, but reported not knowing what they were. He also “loved to drink.” Myra said she smoked weed with her son once or twice. He once had a panic attack and “became very paranoid,” he testified, explaining that he thought he might need to go to the hospital, but “after a while he calmed down.” The trial continues today in Sault Ste. Marie’s trial with Myra Southwood returning to the witness stand.
