Man who allegedly murdered Marpole couple wanted to kill 'someone': Crown
Credit to Author: Keith Fraser| Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2019 01:14:56 +0000
A Marpole couple in their 60s who were the victims of a violent and fatal attack in their own home were targeted for unknown reasons by a man who wanted to kill “someone,” a prosecutor said Wednesday.
Richard Jones, 68, a retired Vancouver man and his 64-year-old wife Dianna Mah-Jones, an occupational therapist who had won a number of awards at work, were confronted and killed in their West 64th Avenue home by Rocky Rambo Wei Nam Kam, said Crown counsel Daniel Mulligan.
He told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Laura Gerow that the Crown theory is that Kam, who lived about one kilometre from the couple, had purchased an axe and other items several weeks prior to the Sept. 26, 2017 slayings specifically to kill someone.
“The Crown has no evidence of any relationship or connection between Mr. Kam and either victim,” Mulligan told the judge in his opening statement.
“In fact, you will hear from his roommate that Mr. Kam had just moved to Vancouver approximately three months before the killings. There is no evidence as to when or why Mr. Kam targeted Mr. Jones.”
On the evening of Sept. 26, 2017, Jones, who was frequently seen by neighbours using his walker to go shopping, was the victim of a “prolonged, yet controlled” attack in the kitchen of the couple’s home, said Mulligan.
“The evidence suggests that Ms. Mah-Jones arrived home when Mr. Kam was already in the house and was attacked just inside her front door,” he said.
“She was dragged to the kitchen where her throat was cut. During this attack, she got Mr. Kam’s DNA on her fingernails. Blood transfer stains on the floor suggest that both victims were ultimately dragged from the kitchen to the bathroom and left in the shower.”
A forensic pathologist is expected to testify that Jones had suffered 103 sharp-force injuries that were characterized as stab, slash and chop wounds, said the Crown.
“Some of these wounds were severe, some were superficial and some were possibly inflicted after the time of death.”
Dianna Mah-Jones, 65, and Richard Jones, 68, were found dead in their Marpole home.
Mah-Jones, who had been at work at GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre earlier in the day, died of blood loss from a laceration that severed her carotid artery. She also had a number of sharp and blunt-force injuries suggesting perhaps that she had struggled, said Mulligan.
Kam, who was 25 at the time of the slayings, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and has remained in custody since his arrest in November 2017. He had initially been charged with second-degree murder, but the Crown upgraded the charges in 2018.
Mulligan told the judge that the purchase of items used in the killings, along with the manner in which the victims were killed, is evidence from which the court can conclude that the killings were planned and deliberate, elements necessary to prove first-degree murder.
Surveillance video from a nearby Canadian Tire store will show Kam purchasing an axe, a baseball hat and gardening gloves used in the killings, said Mulligan.
In the video, Kam is also seen stopping at a knife display and picking up a knife that was similar to a knife found on the lawn of the Jones residence before putting the knife back, he added.
Video recorded in the neighbourhood shows Kam “looking intently” as he walked in the general direction of, and a few blocks away from, the Jones residence on the evening of the slayings, said Mulligan.
A forensics expert is expected to testify that in addition to Kam’s DNA being on Mah-Jones’ fingernails, it was also on the knife found at the crime scene.
Anthony Purcell, a colleague of Mah-Jones, told the judge that he went to the home to check on her when she did not report to work the day following the attack, on Sept. 27, 2017.
As he walked along a pathway in the front-yard area he spotted a knife on the lawn, which was a “red flag” to him because Mah-Jones was such a “responsible” person, and then a bloody hatchet.
He noticed a bloody footprint on the back steps and then came upon a “horrific” scene inside — “a lot of blood and obvious signs of struggle” — before backing out of the home and calling 911.
The trial continues Thursday.
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