‘I hear a bang’: Andrew Rosenfeld’s aunt was in the apartment during fatal shooting

A key witness testified in an ongoing Saskatoon murder trial Tuesday — a woman who was in the home at the time of the fatal shooting.

Andrew Rosenfeldt’s aunt said she was in her bedroom with her cats when she heard a loud gunshot, followed by her nephew screaming.

Rosenfeldt, 28, is on trial for second-degree murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend, 20-year-old Nykera Brown.

Brown was found shot in the head around 8 p.m. on Nov. 15, 2022, inside her apartment on Avenue P South.

On the eleventh day of the trial, Rosenfeldt’s aunt and godmother, Robbin Vermette, took the witness stand.

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“All I can remember is I went to my room with my cats, basically getting to bed and relaxing. All of a sudden, I hear a bang and I hear Andrew screaming. He comes to my door very upset,” Vermette testified.

Within minutes, she said, about ten police officers were inside her one-bedroom apartment.

Frequent fighting

Earlier that evening, around 5 p.m., Vermette testified she heard the couple arguing — a fight that lasted about 30 minutes.

“There was a lot of swearing,” she testified.

When Crown prosecutor Elizabeth Addabor asked if that was the first time she’d heard them fight, Vermette chuckled.

“No.”

She estimated the couple argued about four days a week.

The living situation

Rosenfeldt and Brown lived in Vermette’s small apartment, using the living room as their makeshift bedroom.

She said she didn’t know Brown very well. Her unfamiliarity showing as she mispronounced the name “Nykera” on the stand.

“When they moved in, I kind of put myself in my room and didn’t engage too much,” she told court, explaining that she wanted to give the couple privacy.

Vermette’s name was on the lease, and she paid the rent.

Addabor asked Vermette if she ever saw a firearm in the apartment.

“No. If I saw a gun, the person who had the gun would be out on their tushy,” Vermette testified.

Police later found a .22-calibre rifle, wrapped in tape, tucked inside the box spring of the couple’s bed.