SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Former Hay River RCMP officer Cpl. Sheldon Robb blinked back tears Wednesday as he told Supreme Court how he found Const. Christopher Worden's body, the yellow pant stripe of his police uniform bright against the ground.

It's a memory that has stayed with many RCMP officers who were involved with the search for Worden in Hay River on Oct. 6, 2007, the day he was gunned down.

"It's an image I'll never forget, seeing the yellow stripe of his pants lying on the ground," said Sgt. Ronald Rose, who also testified Wednesday.

Emrah Bulatci is charged with the first degree murder in the shooting death of Worden; Bulatci tried to plead guilty to manslaughter as his trial opened last week, but the Crown rejected the plea.

Three RCMP officers, one ambulance attendant and two nurses testified on Wednesday, the sixth day of the trial.

Rose told court he received a call at his home from emergency dispatch at about 6:30 a.m. on Oct. 6. He and his wife – also an RCMP officer – suited up and drove to the house on Woodland Drive that Worden was last known to be near.

They arrived at about 6:40 a.m. and entered the house, with one other officer, at about 6:50 a.m.

"Chris is missing. At this point we're just looking for a stripe," Const. Carla George recalled saying.

Rose and the officer drew their guns but did not point them at anybody, said Rose.

They shouted, "Where is Chris? Where is he," said George.

After about 10 minutes, the three officers left the house, cordoned it off, and called for backup, said Rose.

First they fanned out from the area in police vehicles, and, after finding nothing, started a foot search.

"Very shortly after we started that search, I heard (the municipal enforcement officer) yell, 'Over here, man down,'" said Rose. "I was close enough to Art (the officer) that I could see him."

Rose crossed the short distance in a treed area quickly: "I see Chris who's on the ground. Art is behind him, knelt down behind him, yelling, trying to get some response from Chris.

"There was some blood on his (Worden's) face. What mostly stood out was the colour. It was blue. The skin colour was blue," said Rose. "From my experience, I knew Chris was dead at that point … I knew it was going to become a crime scene."

Worden was found at about 8:05 a.m. near the Singles apartment complex, across the street from the house on Woodland Drive where his police car was parked and where, court heard in earlier testimony, he met Bulatci coming out of the house.

Rose said both the bylaw officer who found Worden and Robb, who was next on the scene after Rose, were visibly upset.

"I grabbed him (Robb) and said, 'We've got a job to do, we'll do it,'" said Rose.

Ambulance attendants arrived shortly after.

After first checking Worden, and not finding a pulse, emergency medical response officer Dean Korpesio, who was the first EMR member on the scene, asked permission to remove Worden and rush him to the hospital.

"We were in a situation (where we were) close to the hospital … and the warmth of Chris's body indicated there might be an opportunity," Korpesio said.

They arrived at the hospital close to 8:10 a.m. Doctors pronounced Worden dead at 8:50 a.m.

On Tuesday, the court heard from several witnesses who heard gunshots and two who said they saw the incident. None of the witnesses called the police, including a girl who said she saw Bulatci shoot Worden.

"I didn't think anything of it," said one witness who heard the shots. "I just went back to bed."