‘I disapproved it’: Brother, father testify at murder trial

Adam Balanga considered himself part of his sister’s boyfriend’s support group, but he testified in court that he really never discussed the nature of her relationship with the man accused of killing his sister.

Ross Dion, 47, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and arson in the death of Heeley Rae Balanga in May 2018.

The 35-year-old’s body was found in her Aino Beach Road home near Little Britain on May 29, 2018, after emergency services were called to the home at around 5 a.m. to investigate a fire.

It’s Crown attorney David Boulet’s and assistant Crown attorney Samantha Herbert’s theory that Dion killed Balanga by blunt force trauma and tried to set the house of fire before leaving the scene.

On Tuesday, Adam told the court what he knew about Dion, and his relationship with his sister. Adam explained that he only met Dion on a couple occasions over the 3 1/2 years he was in a relationship with Balanga. He told the court that Dion wasn’t his cup of tea and found him a little bit boring, but Adam said he made the effort to accept and include Dion because he cared for his sister.

“We spoke mostly as acquaintances,” Adam testified.

During one interaction with the couple, Adam testified in chief examination that his sister yelled at Dion for not tying the dock up, but in cross-examination he described it as a superficial argument that caused him no concern.

As for what his sister told him about Dion, Adam said she complained about the accused’s alleged cocaine use. Adam testified that his sister had a long history of cocaine use and she was “very serious about avoiding it.” Further, Adam told the court his sister fussed about Dion’s work ethic and that he didn’t have a stable job. He also testified his sister didn’t like the amount of time he spent playing online poker.

That being said, Adam told the court during cross-examination that he had no concerns about Dion, and his sister never complained about emotional or physical abuse in the relationship.

Adam agreed with Dion’s defence team that Dion made his sister happy and liked that Dion was a blue-collar worker. “That’s correct,” he said. Despite Adam’s effort to welcome in his sister’s boyfriend, Dion didn’t meet the high expectations of the siblings’ father.

“I disapproved it,” Moshe Balanga said when asked how he felt about the relationship.

Moshe explained most of the information he received about Dion came from his wife who let the jury know earlier in the trial that she had a strong dislike for Dion. On one occasion, Moshe said he told his daughter he disapproved of Dion because he was out of work a lot.

“She told me that things will change. That Mr. Dion will find steady job.”

The trial continued later Wednesday with testimony from Balanga’s ex-husband.