NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. - Pickton jurors warned of tricky details in evidence from witnesses
NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. _ Just because Robert Pickton was prepared to engage in petty crime shouldn't bias jurors at the accused serial killer's murder trial, the judge in the case told the jury Thursday.
Justice James Williams of B.C. Supreme Court kept the jurors late to finish his thorough review of evidence in the case, which has taken most of three days.
Before he began, he'd told jurors hearing the six-count murder indictment that the review was intended to refresh the evidence and assist in their determination of what was fact that could be applied in their deliberations.
As he concluded his review Thursday, the judge informed the jury that it was to be their last night in their own beds for a while -- he said he would conclude his instructions on Friday with guidelines on how they should handle their work.
"Tomorrow (Friday), the hard work is going to land squarely in your lap,'' he said.
The judge cautioned the jury several times on Thursday to be careful about being tripped up by details in the testimony.
Williams reminded jurors about a deal key Crown witness Andrew Bellwood made with the Port Coquitlam pig farmer to swap good tires on a truck for used ones to make some cash.
Williams told the jury the effect of the evidence was that Pickton was prepared to engage in criminal activities with Bellwood.
Through it the Crown intended to show that Pickton was comfortable enough with Bellwood to discuss confidential matters.
"I must caution you that you should not let the fact that Mr. Pickton was apparently proposing to commit a criminal offence cause you to assess the present charges against him unfairly and other than on the evidence that there is to prove them,'' Williams said.
Bellwood testified during the trial that Pickton told him about picking up sex-trade workers and killing them.
With Lynn Ellingsen's testimony, the judge took the jurors through her chilling statement about seeing Pickton in his slaughterhouse, covered in blood, with a woman hanging from a hook in front of her.
Ellingsen had testified the woman was Georgina Papin, who she and Pickton had picked up earlier that same night from the Downtown Eastside.
Pickton is charged with her murder, as well as those of Sereena Abotsway, Marnie Frey, Brenda Wolfe, Mona Wilson and Andrea Joesbury.
Williams also reviewed testimony given about each of the women on Thursday. Relatives of each of the six women are expected to be in court for the verdict and many have been attending proceedings for the last week and a half.
When he reviewed discrepancies in Ellingsen's testimony about the precise date she witnessed Pickton with the body and her mental state on the night in question, Williams stopped only to note how Ellingsen had testified about being paid solely in cash by a company run by Pickton's brother Dave.
The defence had subsequently called a witness who produced two cheques made out to Ellingsen.
"It is for you to make what you will of this evidence as it relates to the issue of Ms. Ellingsen's credibility,'' Williams said.
But he warned the jurors that their assessment must recognize that Ellingsen didn't return to court to explain the discrepancy.
The judge also reminded jurors that questions asked by counsel are not evidence by themselves and that police officers in the course of their testimony give hearsay evidence that can be accepted.
He gave as an example testimony from Sgt. Dan Almas, who reviewed the information police had on Dave Pickton in 2004 to determine whether there was any firm connection to him and the missing women.
Almas was asked about an alleged incident where Dave Pickton shoved pills into a woman's mouth.
"The incorporation into the question of the allegation that Dave Pickton did that act does not make it true,'' Williams said.
"Similarly, when Sgt. Almas had responded by saying that some conclusion or another had been reached, based on some investigative finding, even though he may not have been the one who did the investigation, he is permitted to speak to the state of the investigation.''
Jurors heard during the trial that there was never enough evidence to charge Dave Pickton with anything relating to the disappearances or murders of women but police continue to extend offers to him of a formal interview in connection with their investigation.
Williams also reviewed the evidence of the dozens of civilian witnesses who testified at trial, including friends and acquaintances of the accused and his family.
He spent some time reviewing evidence relating to Dinah Taylor, a woman who the defence raised as being more connected to the women than the accused.
Taylor did not testify at trial.
Pickton is also charged with the murders of 20 more women from the Downtown Eastside.
He is expected to stand trial on those charges at a later date and on Thursday, lawyers decided that indictment will next be discussed in court in January.
