After hearing arguments from both the defense and the Crown, jury members in the trial of Brian Dickson, the man accused of killing York student Qian Liu in 2011, will begin deliberations on April 7.
The Crown is charging Dickson with first-degree murder for the death of Liu, and has rejected Dickson’s plea for a manslaughter charge.
Liu was attacked by a man in her apartment in the Village while she was chatting online with her boyfriend, Xia Chao Meng, who was in Beijing at the time. She was found naked and face down in her room the next day after Meng managed to get word out to her friends and landlord that she could be in danger.
On April 1, the court heard that DNA found on Liu’s abdomen, groin, fingernails, and chest matched Dickson’s DNA profile.
Forensic biologist Melissa Kell also testified that Liu could also not be excluded as a source of the DNA found on the bloodstained shirt collected from Dickson’s residence.
Forensic pathologist Dr. Christopher Milroy said Liu’s death may have been caused by mechanical asphyxiation, which is blockage of airways through neck or chest compression, as indicated by bruising on her neck and bleeding in her eyes.
Her roommate, Zahid Abdullah, who also testified on April 1, may have helped identify the shirt with the matching DNA sample.
He told the jury he saw an unknown Caucasian male in the house the night of Liu’s death, wearing a shirt that matched the description of the one investigators eventually retrieved and tested.
Abdullah, however, did not directly identify Dickson.
Dickson’s lawyer, Robert Nuttall, is seeking a manslaughter ruling, arguing the cause of death needs to be definitive before one can determine intent beyond reasonable doubt.
Nutall also argued that Dickson’s mental capacity was reduced, based on his claim that he was medicated and intoxicated, but no evidence to prove this combination affected him has been presented as of publication.
Lyra Madriaga
Contributor
