Justin Campbell told the officer he “felt kind of bad about it”Published Nov 01, 2025Last updated 2 hours ago6 minute readA large white screen covered the prisoner’s box in courtroom number one at the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador in Corner Brook on Friday, Oct. 31, 2023. The shield was part of special messages put in place to protect the identity of an undercover police officer testifying in Justin Campbell’s first-degree murder trial. Diane Crocker/THE TELEGRAMArticle contentJust one day after his arrest, Justin Campbell told an undercover police office that he killed his nan.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentWith special precautions in place, that officer testified during Campbell’s first-degree murder trial in the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador in Corner Brook on Friday, Oct. 31.Article contentArticle contentThe courtroom was closed until he was in place in the prisoner’s box, with a large white plastic dome-like structure shielding his identity from the media and public in the courtroom.Article contentArticle contentA publication ban prevents the publication of any information that could lead to identifying the officer.Article contentThe officer told the court he was put into a cell with Campbell at the RCMP detachment in Deer Lake on Sept. 9, 2023.Article contentCampbell had been arrested the previous day for the murder of his nan, Eva Banfield. It’s alleged that he choked and killed her between Aug. 30 and Sept. 7, 2023, and then hid her body under a bed in her apartment.Article contentHer body was discovered in the early hours of Sept. 8, 2023, after a request for a well-being check led police to think something suspicious had happened to Banfield.Article content Justin Campbell had to be moved to the witness stand to allow for a special screen to be placed around the prisoner’s box to protect the identity of an undercover police officer who testified at Campbell’s first-degree murder trial in the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador in Corner Brook on Friday, Oct. 31, 2023. Diane Crocker/THE TELEGRAMArticle contentPut in a cell with CampbellArticle contentThe officer said after arriving at the detachment on Sept. 9, 2023, he was briefed on what was going to take place and given directions.Article contentHe was then placed in cell number two on his own and, after 20 minutes, was to advise the guard that there was something wrong with the toilet and it was flooding.Article contentArticle contentHe was then moved to cell number three, where Campbell was.Article contentArticle contentHe described the cell as being about 10 feet by 10 feet in size with an L-shaped concrete bench in it. In the corner at one end of the L, there was a two-in-one stainless-steel toilet and sink.Article contentWhen he entered the cell at 1:14 a.m., Campbell was lying down on the far bench and he took his mattress and set up on the other part of the bench by the toilet and lay down.Article contentCampbell asked him where he was from, and the officer said, “town.”Article contentCampbell repeated the word “town.” and the officer said he was from St. John’s and he was picked up on a warrant.Article contentCampbell asked him if he was a certain person and, after the officer repeated the name, Campbell said the person’s full name and that he had a warrant out for his arrest.Article contentHe gave Campbell a different name, and Campbell told him his name was Justin.Article contentCampbell later started coughing, and when the officer asked if he was OK, Campbell said he smokes.Article contentThe officer said he has the odd puff every now and then, and Campbell replied, “No, I smoke crack.”Article contentCampbell said he had been up for five days and was sleepy, and then went to sleep.Article content‘He’d done something bad’Article contentThey slept till 7:23 a.m. and, after they woke, had a general conversation about court in the morning.Article contentThe officer told Campbell he had been speeding through Deer Lake by Mary Browns, which was how he got stopped, and that he’d been on his way to try to catch the ferry.Article content“That’s when Justin asked me if I’d seen him on the news. I said ‘news’ and he said he’d done something bad.Article content“And I responded ‘bad,’ and then he said ‘murder.’”Article contentThe officer leaned back, creating a little bit more distance between them, and repeated the word ‘murder.’Article content“And he said he had killed his grandmother. Then he said he felt kind of bad about it,” said the officer.Article contentThe officer responded with something along the lines of: “Oh, f..k, that’s heavy.”Article contentArticle contentCampbell told him crack was bad, and something referring to how powerful a drug crack was.Article contentCampbell also said he’d stolen $8,000 from his grandmother’s credit card and had texted friends to say she was out of town in Jackson’s Arm, and she didn’t have her phone.Article content Justin Campbell. Photo by Diane Crocker/THE TELEGRAMArticle contentMakes notesArticle contentThe officer said there was a lot of information coming in, and he wanted to get out of the cell to make some notes.Article contentHe told Campbell he needed his insulin. The officer got up and knocked on the door.Article content“Prior to that, also, Justin did make the comment that, ‘I shouldn’t be telling you this, but you’re going to see it on the news.’”Article contentHe also told the officer his grandmother was 69.Article contentThe officer was removed from the cell and made some quick notes of what had transpired.Article contentAfter he went back, Campbell said he missed his grandmother already and that he could handle himself in jail. He didn’t want to go there, he told the officer, but he was a big boy.Article contentArticle contentAsked if Campbell said how his grandmother died, the officer said: “At one point, he did say that he didn’t shoot her, he choked her.”Article contentThe officer asked Campbell if he had anything to worry about, and he responded, “no.”Article contentHe exited the cell at 9:20 a.m.Article contentThe officer said it was echoey in the cell, and even in close proximity, it was hard to hear, and a few times when Campbell said something, he would have to say, “What?”Article contentCampbell, who was seated in the witness stand for the officer’s testimony, could be seen nodding in agreement.Article contentThe officer said he had a recording device with him in the cell, but it was very hard to hear, and sometimes he would have to rewind it and listen to it a couple of times to pick out what was being said.Article contentIn identifying Campbell for the court, the officer noted he had lost a bit of weight. Campbell again nodded his head in agreement.Article contentCampbell’s lawyers did not cross-examine the officer, and the courtroom was cleared for him to leave.Article contentWhen the trial resumed, the shield had been removed, and Campbell was seated in the prisoner’s box.Article contentAnother confessionArticle contentThe next two witnesses, Justin Young and his girlfriend, Holly Rubia, testified that Campbell spent time with them and another person at Rubia’s Main Dam home, drinking and smoking crack cocaine, in the three to four days before his arrest.Article contentYoung said Campbell confided in them and told them what happened.Article content“He pretty much told us he had strangled his grandmother,” Young said, adding he did not believe him at first.Article contentAt around 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 8, 2023, Young went to the store and said he saw cops in the area.Article contentArticle contentWhen Campbell told them what he’d done, Young said he knew he had done something wrong and was remorseful.Article contentYoung said Campbell planned to turn himself in.Article content“He just needed that one last night to settle his head, I guess.”Article contentLater in the morning, Young and Rubia went to the RCMP detachment and told them what had happened.Article content Crown attorneys Brenda Duffy, left, and Kate Ashton prepare booklets of photos that will be shown to the jury in Justin Campbell’s first-degree murder trial in the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador in Corner Brook on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. Photo by Diane Crocker/THE TELEGRAMArticle contentOn cross-examination, Jonathan Regan asked Young about his memory of that night and if the drugs and alcohol consumed affected it.Article contentHe said not necessarily, and that he was a long-time user. At the time Campbell said he’d killed his grandmother, Young said he was under the influence of crack, alcohol and marijuana.Article contentAsked if he had spoken with his girlfriend about what Campbell said since that day, Young said he hadn’t.Article content“It’s not something that I want her really thinking about. It’s not really something that I want to think about. It’s something that I wish I could forget. Now, I know that’s kind of impossible; it did happen. It’s the kind of thing you wish never happened, put it that way,” said Young.Article contentArticle contentOn redirect, Crown attorney Kate Ashton asked Young if, despite his drug use that night, was he certain about what Campbell said.Article contentYoung replied: “Yeah. It stood the hair up on the back of my neck.”Article contentRubia was asked many similar questions, but often struggled to answer them.Article contentFor instance, she just said that Campbell spoke of some stuff that happened, when asked about the night.Article content“Something that happened,” she replied when asked what he said, and nervously scratched her head and started to cry.Article contentAshton then asked her if she could tell them what he said.Article content“He spoke about his grandmother,” said Rubia,Article contentRubia never testified about what Campbell said, but that he repeated what happened a few times.Article contentShe said he seemed panicky and afraid.Article contentOn cross-examination by Olivia Genge, Rubia agreed she had been drinking and smoking crack but said she wasn’t intoxicated.Article content“It didn’t impair my judgement to go to make the report,” said Rubia.Article contentThe trial will resume on Monday, Nov. 3.Article content
Deer Lake man confessed to nans murder in cell with undercover officer
