[su_heading size=”21″]Witnesses are now being called to the stand in the trial of Brian Dickson, the man accused of killing York student Qian Liu in her Village home in 2011.[/su_heading]
On the second day of the trial, the jury heard several witness accounts of what happened the day Liu’s body was first discovered in her Aldwinkle Heights residence.
Faquan Zeng, Liu’s landlord at the time; Alvin Yuhalogarasan, a paramedic who responded; and Toronto police sergeant Eric Dugan took the stand on March 25 to explain what they saw on April 15, 2011.
Zeng explained through a translator that he had received a message stating Liu might be in danger before rushing over to the residence to check if she was okay.
In her opening statements, Crown attorney Christine Pirraglia outlined how Liu’s former boyfriend (who had seen her struggle with a man over webcam the night before) had contacted her friends.
They eventually relayed the information to a tenant in the house, who then contacted Zeng.
[su_pullquote align=”right”]“We shouted Qian’s name, [but] we got no response, so we used the [master] key,” said Zeng’s translator.[/su_pullquote]
Zeng says he shouted Liu’s name a few more times and then opened the door and saw Liu lying on the floor.
According to Pirraglia, Liu’s body was faced down on the floor, naked from the mid-chest down with a nightgown pulled up around her chest. The Crown also noted Liu’s body had a white dry substance located on the upper thigh and groin area when found.
It was later determined that the substance was semen.
Yuhalogarasan, a paramedic who responded, says after examining her arm, he determined resuscitation would be futile.
“She was pronounced dead with rigor mortis,” says Yuhalogarasan, explaining rigor mortis is when joints become stiff and is a clear sign of death.
The Crown attorney stated on March 24 that Liu had died from mechanical asphyxia involving some form of neck compression.
Police sergeant Dugan explained on the stand that Liu was lying face down with blood coming from each side of her head, matching the photos displayed in court on March 24.
In the busy courtroom, Liu’s family listened in with earphones, as a translator helped them understand every single word said in the trial. The family stayed silent as each witness described what they saw in the Village home.
In her opening statement, Pirraglia revealed more details on how Liu was allegedly killed.
Around 1 a.m., Liu was chatting online with her former boyfriend Xian Meng in Beijing. She heard a knock on her door, said Pirraglia. Meng then saw a man attempt to hug Liu before pushing his way into her bedroom and knocking her webcam off the computer.
“He shoved Ms. Liu causing her to fall off camera in the direction of her bed,” said Pirraglia. “Mr. Meng, no longer able to see any images, heard Ms. Liu saying the word ‘no’ in both English and Mandarin.”
Pirraglia said after two muffled bangs, Meng never heard Liu’s voice again, and before the screen was shut, he saw the man approach the computer, naked from the waist down.
Robert Nuttall, the lawyer representing Dickson, asked the jury to return with a verdict of manslaughter, stating at the beginning of the trial, “This is not a case of who did it; this is a what happened case.”
He also stated that the jury members should pay close attention to the forensic evidence.
Dickson’s trial is expected to last three to four weeks with a 14-member jury.
A doctor who examined the body is expected to testify as a witness on March 25, along with Detective-Sergeant Frank Skubic, a lead investigator in the case.
Victoria Alarcon
Assistant News Editor
