Verdict reserved in Vandewater murder trial

Pfefferle said the only two people who knew what happened in the cell that night were his client and Van Camp. He said the correctional officers who testified the week prior were unreliable because nobody else was in the cell.

He compared it to the analogy if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

“You’ve got to be in the forest to hear and these people weren’t in the forest,” he said.

Pfefferle admitted he was shocked by the testimony heard in court. He said it found it particularly alarming to hear Van Camp was dead inside his cell over seven hours, despite correctional officers’ claims they saw him moving during the morning count at 7 a.m.

“This case showed inefficient, ineffective observation of inmates,” Pfefferle said.

Pfefferle encouraged Justice B.J. Scherman to try and put himself in the shoes of an inmate at the prison, explaining prisons are not “nice places for nice people, and the fights that do occur there are not fair, and often involve weapons.”

“It doesn’t make it right or less tragic; this is not a civilized society, this is Sask. Pen,” he said.

The weapon identified in court as belonging to Chris Van Camp, which was ultimately used by Vandewater to stab him. (Court of Queen’s Bench)

Crown lawyer Linh Lê addressed the self-defence argument during her closing remarks. She said the argument was reliant on three questions: Did the accused believe he was being threatened, did he attempt to protect himself from harm; and was the conduct of the accused reasonable under the circumstances?

“All three must be established,” she said, or the argument fails.

The autopsy report revealed Van Camp was stabbed over 30 times to his neck, back and chest areas. There were also over 26 abrasions and wounds on his face. According to forensic pathologist Shaun Ladham, there were no wounds on Van Camp’s hands or forearms to show signs of defensive or offensive injuries.

“Are we the court that allows the brutal killing of a cellmate when there were other options?” Lê asked. She said there was no evidence of Vandewater attempting to call for help when he was allegedly being attacked.

Lê also raised questions with Vandewater’s testimony, adding she found it concerning to hear him claim he received “permission” to testify and tell his side of the story. When Vandewater was pressed Friday to say who gave him permission, he became agitated and said he feared for his life if he answered.

Pfefferle explained prison culture follows a different set of rules which may not be understood by law abiding citizens. He also noted people who testify have different sort of pressures, but he added there was no evidence to prove his client lied about what happened.

Outside the courthouse, Lê said the case as a whole was a difficult one, given there was essentially only one real witness.

“You have to work extra hard to put that version up against the physical evidence and say is this reasonable, does this story make sense based on our common sense understanding of situations of violence but also our understanding of the law,” she said.

The decision by Scherman was adjourned to March 5. Regardless of the outcome next month, Vandewater will remain behind bars for some time yet, with a scheduled release date of 2029. Outside the courthouse, Van Camp’s mother said Vandewater’s testimony had no credibility and did not make sense.

“I think [Chris] got up after he was resting, went to use the washroom and was attacked,” Lauren Laithwaite said.

Over the course of the past week, Laithwaite was exposed to detailed testimony about her son’s death as well as dozens of autopsy photos. She said even though Vandewater used a weapon, the correctional system is ultimately at fault.

“The prison system has a lot of work to do and my civil case going forward is about holding them accountable for just a dysfunctional system that allowed this type of thing to happen,” she said.

Lauren Laithwaite outside Court of Queen’s Bench on Wednesday. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

Lathwaite’s lawsuit, which was filed in July 2017, involves both the Correctional Services of Canada (CSC) and the Attorney General of Canada. A spokesperson for the Correctional Service of Canada provided the following statement to paNOW:

“The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) takes the death of an inmate very seriously, the loss of life is always a tragedy. Following Mr. Van Camp’s death, CSC convened an internal Board of Investigation (BOI). BOIs allow the CSC to examine circumstances of incidents and to present findings and recommendations that may prevent similar occurrences in the future. Any actions that address any areas of concern are considered and implemented accordingly. CSC cannot provide any further details as this matter is before the courts.”

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell

by Nigel Maxwell

Verdict reserved in Vandewater murder trial

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