Vancouver Island man accused of murdering his two daughters insists he didn't kill them
Credit to Author: Lora Grindlay| Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2019 19:45:37 +0000
Andrew Berry has taken the stand in his own defence, denying he killed his two daughters and tried to kill himself on Christmas Day 2017.
The 45-year-old Oak Bay man is charged with the second-degree murder of his two daughters, six-year-old Chloe and four-year-old Aubrey.
In his opening remarks, defence lawyer Kevin McCullough told a B.C. Supreme Court jury Berry would testify that he was brutally attacked in his apartment on Christmas Day 2017 and regained consciousness to find his two young daughters had been killed.
McCullough told the jury Berry will tell them that he did not kill his daughters and did not try to kill himself on Christmas Day.
“I expect he will tell you that he loved his daughters incredibly,” McCullough said.
The jury will hear that Christmas Day 2017 was not rock bottom for Berry, said the defence lawyer.
Six-year-old Chloe Berry (left) and her four-year-old sister Aubrey died on Christmas Day, 2017.
It snowed in Victoria that Christmas, which was rare, and Berry will tell the jury that he played in the snow with the girls on Christmas Eve and again on Christmas Day. He will tell them there were no loud crashes and banging in his apartment that morning, “just the exceptional excitement of the girls wanting to get out in the snow.”
Rock bottom came Nov. 28, 2017, the jury will hear. On that day, McCullough said, Berry tried to hang himself, but realized he had too much to live for with his two little girls. The jury will hear that he tried to pull himself out of his despair and deal with his problems, the lawyer said.
Rock bottom also came in the days following the girls’ deaths, when Berry found himself in hospital and everyone treated him like a killer, McCullough said.
The jury can expect to hear a detailed history of Berry’s gambling, his borrowing from loan sharks and the threatening visits he received from two men who put Berry on the phone to the man he owed money to.
The jury will also hear that Berry stored two packages in his apartment and gave his keys to the loan shark.
Andrew Berry, accused of killing his two young daughters on Christmas Day 2017, took the stand Wednesday in his own defence.
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