Murder trial hears from police, Taylor Samson’s girlfriend

Halifax Regional Police Sgt. Sandra Johnston continued her testimony Monday in the first-degree murder trial of William Sandeson.

Sandeson, 24, stands accused of killing Taylor Samson, 22. Police have never been able to locate Samson’s remains.

READ: William Sandeson ‘confident’ as murder trial begins in Halifax: defence

Johnston was a forensic identification officer in the summer of 2015 and was one of the officers who processed Sandeson’s Henry Street apartment on three separate occasions. The court heard that although Johnston lost her handwritten notes regarding the case, there were notes made in a police computer system about relevant information.

Under cross-examination, lawyer Brad Sarson hammered Johnston about what steps police officers took to ensure the Henry Street apartment scene was safe and secure and whether or not it was possible to get false-positives from tests officers did on staining found at the apartment.

Johnston previously testified that police found a 9mm Smith and Wesson handgun, bullets and thousands of dollars in cash inside the apartment.

“Obviously, this is a case involving a lot of circumstantial evidence and the type of exhibits she spoke about, the things she saw at the apartment will be very important,” said Crown Attorney Susan MacKay.

READ MORE: Jury shown gun, bullets and cash seized from William Sandeson’s apartment

The 11th witness to take the stand for the crown was MacKenzie Ruthven. She had been dating Taylor Samson for six months at the time of his disappearance.

Ruthven testified she and Samson were supposed to go out on the evening of August 15, 2015, when he stepped out for a few minutes and never returned.

“Taylor Samson’s girlfriend is one of the last people we say, that saw him alive so we’re obviously interested in having her tell the jury about the last time she saw him,” said MacKay.

Ruthven was quite emotional at times while in the witness box. She told the jury although Samson tried to hide it from her, she was well aware that he was involved with drugs.

READ MORE: How do police lay murder charges without a body?

The jury was sent home early Monday so lawyers could deal with an undisclosed legal issue that arose. There is a publication ban in place so discussions that occur between the lawyers and the judge in the absence of the jury can not be reported.

Despite the interruption, MacKay still feels that the crown will be able to finish their case in time. In total, 32 court days over eight weeks have been set aside for the trial.

Testimony is scheduled to resume Tuesday morning.

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