[su_heading size=”21″]Testimony from witnesses and video evidence reveal the events leading up to York student Qian Liu’s death. [/su_heading]
In a busy courtroom on March 24, Crown Attorney Christine Pirraglia opened with details of how Qian Liu died on the evening of April 14, 2011.
“Ms. Liu was in her room engaged in an online chat with her former boyfriend in Beijing, Xian Meng,” says Pirraglia. After 1:00 a.m., Liu heard a knock on her door. Meng saw a man attempt to hug Liu before pushing his way into her bedroom and knocking the webcam off the computer.
[su_pullquote]“Ms. Liu was in her room engaged in an online chat with her former boyfriend in Beijing, Xian Meng.”[/su_pullquote]
“He shoved Ms. Liu causing her to fall off camera in the direction of her bed,” says Pirraglia.
“Mr. Meng, no longer was able to see any images, heard Ms. Liu saying the word ‘no’ in both English and Mandarin.”
Pirraglia continues, and says two muffled bangs were heard afterwards. Meng never heard Liu’s voice before the screen was turned off, but saw a man approach the computer naked from the waist down shutting off the webcam.
Liu’s body was found the next morning by her landlord and two other tenants. Her lifeless body was face down and naked from the chest down.
According to DNA forensics examination, traces of semen were found on the right side of Liu’s abdomen and right side of her upper groin area.
Forensic biologist Melissa Kell says swabs taken from Liu’s right and left breast revealed the presence of male DNA, and former York student Brian Dickson could not be excluded as a source of DNA.
[su_pullquote align=”right”]“Mr. Meng, no longer was able to see any images, heard Ms. Liu saying the word ‘no’ in both English and Mandarin.”[/su_pullquote]
In addition, a T-shirt seized from Dickson’s room was examined and was found to contain a small blood stain. Liu could not be excluded as the source of that blood.
[su_carousel source=”media: 22680,22679,22678,22677,22676″]
Upon findings and observations, the cause of death was determined to be mechanical asphyxia involving some form of neck compression.
Photos and video of the scene of the crime were shown in court where blood could be found around Qian Liu’s head.
Liu’s family, who had flown in from China on March 21, were present in court and were seen crying as photos and video footage of the crime scene were displayed.
The opening statement by Pirraglia was supported by two testimonies, including Sohan Joshi, one tenant living in the same house who called 911.
Joshi explained to the jury how he was in a panicked state, when he saw Liu’s body face down and trying to determine whether she was still alive or not.
He also stated he knew Dickson prior to the trial as someone who had signed a package for him in the past and someone he knew as a tenant.
Robert Nuttall, the defense attorney for Dickson pleaded with the jury in the beginning of the trial, and said during the trial, “this is not a case of who did it. This is a what happened case.”
He also stated the jury members should pay close attention to the forensics evidence to return with a verdict of manslaughter.
Dickson’s trial continues for the rest of the week with testimony from witnesses such as Liu’s boyfriend Xian Meng, and forensic biologist Melissa Kell.
Victoria Alarcon
Assistant News Editor
