Police investigating the murder of a pregnant woman in 2011 discovered computer records at her home showing Internet searches for potentially fatal doses of a sedative, a court heard.
Anna Karissa Grandine, 29, was found drowned in the bathtub of her Scarborough home on Oct. 17, 2011. An autopsy found traces of the sedative Lorazepam A, commonly known as Ativan, in her blood. She was five months pregnant at the time.
Her husband, former pastor Philip Grandine, is on trial for first-degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty.
Police say computer records show a search under Grandine's username on Wiki.answers.com. The user asked whether 100 mg of Ativan would be fatal. It was followed by another search, seconds later, about whether 80 mg of Ativan would be fatal.
Police say a search about whether 100 mg of Lorazepam tabs is fatal was also conducted. They were all done approximately one week prior to Anna Karissa Grandine's death.
On Thursday, the court also heard that a filter placed on the Grandine's computer that monitored and limited visits to pornographic sites was disabled shortly after 10:05 p.m. on the day of the alleged murder. Grandine had previously told police that he had gone for a jog at approximately 9:45 p.m., and returned home an hour later to find his wife in the bathtub.
The Crown has alleged that Grandine plotted to kills his wife so he could continue an extramarital affair with one of his parishioners at Ennerdale Baptist Church.
The Crown has alleged that Grandine, who also worked as a nurse, may have had access to the sedative. The couple’s doctor has told the court that Grandine’s wife was never prescribed Ativan. He has also testified that Grandine previously admitted to him about being unhappy in his marriage.
"He was not sure if his wife would have been his first choice if he had to do it all over again," Dr. Irving Gore told the court.
Police say days before the homicide, computer records also showed Internet searches for "body rubs dream spa: a new spa massage," "let Thai companion give u the ultimate experience," and "TO sluts: Toronto escorts review."
Investigators also say on the night of the alleged murder, computer records also show an Internet search for female escorts. The time stamp for the search was 9:08 p.m.
With a report from CTV Toronto’s Austin Delaney
