A B.C. Supreme Court judge has finished instructing the jury in the trial of Andrew Berry, who is accused of two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of his daughters in Oak Bay.
The jury has been sequestered and is now deliberating.
The judge has told the jury it is their duty to determine if the Crown proved their case against Mr. Berry beyond a reasonable doubt.
Berry has pleaded not guilty to both counts. The bodies of his daughters, four-year-old Aubrey and six-year-old Chloe, were found in their bed’s at Berry’s Oak Bay apartment on Dec. 25, 2017.
Berry was found naked and injured in the bathtub. He has testified that he owed thousands of dollars to a loan shark named Paul and that he was attacked in his apartment by a “dark haired, dark skinned” man on the day of his daughters’ deaths.
The Crown alleges Berry killed his daughters on Christmas morning, as he believed he would lose custody of the girls after that Christmas, then tried to kill himself. Berry has denied this.
Berry’s trial began in April in Vancouver and is being streamed to a Victoria courthouse.
Follow Luisa Alvarez on Twitter for more
Back in court today covering the Berry trial. Today the judge is going to instruct the jury before they begin deliberations. Berry is charged with second-degree murder in the deaths of his two young daughters. *Will be tweeting in this thread only * #BerryTrial @CHEK_News pic.twitter.com/w7ESSUnIfq
— Luisa Alvarez (@LuisaAlvarez95) September 24, 2019
Some of what the judge has told the jury "It is your duty to determine if the crown as proved their case against Mr. Berry beyond a reasonable doubt"
"Remember it is your memory of the evidence that counts"
— Luisa Alvarez (@LuisaAlvarez95) September 24, 2019
continued – "In addition, you must not be influenced by public opinion, your duty as jurors is to asses the information impartially"
"Any other information about the case outside the courtroom is not evidence"
— Luisa Alvarez (@LuisaAlvarez95) September 24, 2019
"Approach the issues in a rational way."
"Avoid taking firm positions too early in your deliberation"
"Any verdict must be unanimous."
— Luisa Alvarez (@LuisaAlvarez95) September 24, 2019
Judge is now reading out to the jury the facts of the case as they were presented at trial.
Summarizing what each witness testified.
She is reading it all out from a binder that the jury will have for reference during deliberations.
— Luisa Alvarez (@LuisaAlvarez95) September 24, 2019
Judge is explaining to the jury that motive is not one of the elements the crown must prove. But it may help them in deciding whether Berry is guilty or not. It is up to them to decide how much or how little weight to give the crown's evidence of motive.
— Luisa Alvarez (@LuisaAlvarez95) September 24, 2019
Judge tells the jury they must consider each count of second-degree murder separately.
"Come to your own conclusion whether the crown has proved each count on its own beyond a reasonable doubt"
The jury can find Berry guilty or not guilty of both or one count.
— Luisa Alvarez (@LuisaAlvarez95) September 24, 2019
The judge read both the crown and the defence summary statements to the jury.
Defence: The only evidence that you can be sure of is that he was found injured in the apartment and the girls dead in the rooms.
– Mr Berry gets the benefit of the doubt, not the crown.
1/2— Luisa Alvarez (@LuisaAlvarez95) September 24, 2019
The defense argues the crown has built the case on ambiguous circumstances.
– Complete absence of expert evidence that Berry's injuries were self-inflicted should cause reasonable doubt. If you are not sure Berry gave himself the injuries you can not be sure he killed his girls
— Luisa Alvarez (@LuisaAlvarez95) September 24, 2019
continued..
No negative inference can be drawn from Mr. Berry's silence
The defence argues Mr Berry's evidence on key evidence was consistent and truthful.
— Luisa Alvarez (@LuisaAlvarez95) September 24, 2019
The crown:
Evidence shows that the girls were killed in their beds on Christmas day 2017.
The bloodstain patterns show the girls were stabbed where they were found.
Both girls had empty stomachs, presents were left unopened under the tree
1/3
— Luisa Alvarez (@LuisaAlvarez95) September 24, 2019
– No evidence, no DNA evidence, no bloody shoe print that an unknown attacker was in the apartment.
His story that the unknown dark-skinned attacker is unbelievable and defies logic.
Berry repeatedly asked first responders to kill him and admitted he tried suicide.
2/3
— Luisa Alvarez (@LuisaAlvarez95) September 24, 2019
Lost all hope, had no money, no job, unlike previous desperate periods he had no-one to turn to, no income and no credit to tap.
Clear from the evidence he blames Sarah Cotton and his mother for the situation he was in.
Continued in next tweet.
— Luisa Alvarez (@LuisaAlvarez95) September 24, 2019
Perhaps his initial plan did not include killing his girls but something happened on Dec 25th.
And while his reasons may never be known the evidence in its totality proves without a reasonable doubt he did it and tried but failed to commit suicide.
— Luisa Alvarez (@LuisaAlvarez95) September 24, 2019
Perhaps his initial plan did not include killing his girls but something happened on Dec 25th.
And while his reasons may never be known the evidence in its totality proves without a reasonable doubt he did it and tried but failed to commit suicide.
— Luisa Alvarez (@LuisaAlvarez95) September 24, 2019
Judge instructs the jury they can find Berry guilty or not guilty of second-degree murder or guilty of the included offence of manslaughter for both or one count.
— Luisa Alvarez (@LuisaAlvarez95) September 24, 2019
If they have questions they have to put them in writing and put them in sealed evidence to give to the sheriff.
– Any verdict must be unanimous.
If the jury cannot reach a unanimous verdict they must tell the sheriff in writing.
— Luisa Alvarez (@LuisaAlvarez95) September 24, 2019
The judge has sent the jury out for lunch. They have NOT been told to begin deliberating. The judge has not finished her charge to the jury.
— Luisa Alvarez (@LuisaAlvarez95) September 24, 2019
The judge is making some changes to her jury charge. Asking the jurors to write in the additions and telling them again they need to be sure beyond a reasonable doubt that Berry is guilty to convict.
— Luisa Alvarez (@LuisaAlvarez95) September 24, 2019
Telling them if they cannot reach a unanimous verdict of either or each count of second-degree murder or manslaughter they must notify the sheriff in writing. Judge reminding the jury deliberations are secret. They are now sequestered. They will deliberate until 6pm.
— Luisa Alvarez (@LuisaAlvarez95) September 24, 2019
Andrew Berry's fate is now in the hands of the jury. Jurors will deliberate until 6 or 6:30pm today. They can find Berry guilty of second-degree murder or manslaughter for either or both counts. It must be a unanimous decision. @CHEK_News pic.twitter.com/6cBLpaG0aB
— Luisa Alvarez (@LuisaAlvarez95) September 24, 2019
With files from The Canadian Press
CHEK News
