‘I’m not just gonna sit there and let the guy kill me’: accused defends killing cellmate

Vandewater was questioned why he didn’t stop and felt the need to stab his “friend” over 30 times. He said Van Camp attacked him with a blade.

“I’m not just gonna sit there and let the guy kill me,” Vandewater said, adding the cell was dark at the time of the fight, and claimed he had no way of seeing or knowing what damage he caused until it was too late.

“I didn’t know anything. I could just tell he was trying to stab me,” Vandewater said.

Prior to Van Camp’s release from prison, he and Vandewater shared the same cell on the C-range of the maximum security unit for up to eight months. Court heard the pair had no issues and both were often seen eating or working out together.

Because both Van Camp and Vandewater had a congenial history, correctional officers bunked them together again when Van Camp’s parole violation sent him back to prison on June 6.

A photo of the weapon Vandewater has testfied to using to stab Chris Van Camp. (supplied/Court of Queen’s Bench)

Vandewater testified Monday he cared about his former cellmate and regrets what happened. He said Van Camp was high on drugs at the time of the incident and said it affected his state of mind.

“It eats at me what happened,” Vandewater said. “That was my family. I loved him.”

On Friday, court heard Vandewater spent almost 30 minutes cleaning up the mess following Van Camp’s death. Witnesses testified he placed blood soaked items in bags under the bed before he spent the next seven hours waiting for correctional officers to discover Van Camp’s body.

When asked by Crown lawyer Linh Lê why he didn’t tell the range rep what happened, Vandewater replied he feared for his own life and retaliatory gang violence he could face from fellow inmates.

“I just killed a T.S. (Terror Squad) member without permission,” he said. “I’m not superman.”

After the incident, Vandewater was transferred out of the prison for a short time. Upon his return when the court proceedings began, he said he learned through other inmates he was fine, and they understood he did what he had to do.

The final witness

The defence’s final witness was the prison’s range rep at the time of the incident. Among Darren Nilsson’s responsibilities was his role as a mediator between inmates and correctional officers and organizing events.

He recalled speaking with Van Camp on the night of June 6. He said Van Camp, who was normally more of an introvert, was talking a lot and expressed he felt someone was after him. Nilsson said Van Camp sounded paranoid.

“I thought he was high,” he said, adding he told Van Camp to relax, reminding him everyone was trying to sleep.

Nilsson, an inmate, recalled he heard what sounded like a fight in the cell next to him, but said it was not his business to ask questions. He then said he learned what happened later that morning after the prison was placed on lockdown and Vandewater was taken away.

“It was pretty much like a rude awakening,” he said.

The case has now been adjourned to Wednesday morning, at which time closing arguments are scheduled to begin.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell

by Nigel Maxwell

‘I’m not just gonna sit there and let the guy kill me’: accused defends killing cellmate

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