Melissa Sundardas
News Editor
The trial date is set for April 2, 2013 for Brian Dickson, who has been charged with first-degree murder of York exchange student, Qian “Necole” Liu.
Dickson, age 30, was charged days after Liu’s death, in what has become known as the “webcam killing.”
The trial will feature a jury and is expected to last anywhere from four to five weeks. The jury’s role will be to deliberate whether Dickson is indeed guilty of the charge.
“A judge and jury is normal with a homicide. You need Attorney General consent to have a judge alone,” says Dickson’s lawyer, Robert Nuttall. “ And in this province an Attorney General rarely consents to a judge alone.”
Nuttall said he could not provide any details from the May 18 court appearance when issues that might be heard during the trial were discussed.
Details of Liu’s cause of death have not been revealed.
Police found Liu dead on April 15, 2011 inside her basement apartment in the Village, naked from the waist down but with no obvious signs of trauma.
A Skype chat with her boyfriend in Beijing was the last time Liu was seen alive. Liu’s boyfriend said he watched via webcam as a man assaulted her upon entering her basement apartment.
