By Canadian Press

Ex-hostage Boyle was angry, bossy after release, witnesses tell court

Apr 4, 2019 | 2:57 PM

OTTAWA — Witnesses appearing at Joshua Boyle’s assault trial Thursday describe the former Afghanistan hostage as angry and domineering in the days following his release from captivity.

Boyle and his wife, Caitlan Coleman, were seized by extremists in Afghanistan during a 2012 backpacking trip and rescued five years later by Pakistani forces.

Janice Unger, a Global Affairs Canada official who accompanied them on the plane back to Canada in 2017, told the court that at one point during the flight Boyle abruptly told her and a colleague to return to their seats.

Coleman’s sister, JoAnn Rotenberry, visited the couple shortly after their return and recalled that Boyle always seemed angry and frustrated, and would speak in a demeaning way to his wife.

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Boyle was arrested in the early hours of Dec. 31, 2017, after Coleman told police he had assaulted her on numerous occasions.

Boyle, 35, has pleaded not guilty in Ontario court to offences against Coleman including assault, sexual assault and unlawful confinement.

The Canadian Press