A key Crown witness at the trial of a woman charged with killing her son testified she heard a gunshot, then ran into the kitchen to see Samantha Dittmer with a rifle propped up on her shoulder.Dittmer is on trial for the second-degree murder of her son on Aug. 29, 2021.
But Kazakoff knew her boyfriend was going to die and watched him take his last breath, she testified. Both Dittmer and McPhee were paranoid that McPhee’s ex-wife’s boyfriend would come to Port Alberni and harm them, Kazakoff testified. A cord had been attached to the door to keep Dittmer out, she said. Once a week, the three of them would go target-shooting in the bush with shotguns and rifles, said Kazakoff.
The day McPhee was killed, the three of them had driven to Great Central Lake to get crayfish traps. Dittmer and McPhee split a 15-pack of Lucky Lager between them.“I told her: ‘I don’t think you should be driving right now. You don’t have a licence and you’re drunk.’ ” Dittmer seemed “really evil” when she told her to call 911, said Kazakoff, imitating Dittmer’s voice.“I mean the person I loved got killed by another person that I loved and it ruined my whole life. It’s been really hard. Unbelievably hard. Something you’d think you’d never have to witness — a mother shooting her son. It’s surreal. It’s unbelievable.”