2nd woman testifies against Winnipeg suspect in death of woman found in barrel

Perez Cleveland is seen in this undated police handout photo. A Crown prosecutor says a man on trial for first-degree murder maintained control over multiple women he lived with through surveillance, drugs and abuse. Perez Cleveland, 46, has pleaded not guilty in the death of Jennifer Barrett, 42, whose body was found in a barrel behind their Winnipeg home in December 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Winnipeg Police Service *MANDATORY CREDIT*

WINNIPEG — A woman is testifying that she was once wrapped in duct tape and threatened with a meat cleaver by a Winnipeg man accused of killing another woman whose body was found in a barrel.

Perez Cleveland, who is 46, has pleaded not guilty to killing 42-year-old Jennifer Barrett in December 2016.

Holley Sullivan has told court that she started dating Cleveland after they met working at a call centre in Toronto in 2010 when she was 21 and he was 36.

She said the relationship started well, but it quickly turned abusive and more women began living with them.

Sullivan is currently serving time after pleading guilty for her role in hiding Barrett’s body in the barrel.

Earlier this week, court heard that Cleveland shared the Winnipeg house with his adult daughter and five women who were described in court by one of them as “sister wives.”

The defence has argued that one of the women, Jessica Reid, was jealous, on methamphetamine and was violent towards Barrett.

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press