The lawyer defending Alpha Henry, an Etobicoke man on trial for the murder of his parents Veronica and Colin Henry, pointed the finger at Alpha’s younger brother Daniel Henry in a Toronto courtroom Tuesday.
Defence lawyer Jamie Kopman advanced the version of events put forward by Alpha Henry when he called 9-1-1 on Sept. 21, 2022, and later, when he gave an interview to police, that it was his brother Daniel who was responsible for their parents’ death.
“I would suggest you arrived home from your trip to find your parents doing worship, specifically on the 21st of September and you were upset with your parents in engaging in worship that night,” defence lawyer Jamie Kopman said to Daniel during cross-examination. Daniel replied “that is not true.”
Kopman put it to Daniel that he didn’t want to participate in the prayer worship and his parents were being critical of him not taking part. “I would suggest you got to a position of frustration and anger that led to an argument with your parents.”
“I would suggest it drove you at some point to get a knife from the kitchen and Alpha at some point tried to stop you. I would suggest that is how Alpha got a cut on his hand. I would suggest to you Alpha leaves the unit to get help and leaves you alone with your parents. I would suggest while out of the unit, you’re the one who stabs his parents and you’re the one who poured gasoline on them,” said Kopman. “Not true,” Daniel repeated.
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Daniel earlier admitted during cross-examination that he and his parents had concerns about Alpha’s mental health. Daniel denied Kopman’s suggestion that he was able to tell police that his brother did it, whereas Alpha wouldn’t be able to properly speak to police about what happened due to his mental state.
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During his examination in chief, Daniel said that he didn’t give an interview to police for nearly a year after his parents’ murders. The younger brother testified had been arrested after calling 911 and taken back to 23 division, before later being released.
“I’m going to suggest you didn’t make a statement to police because you were trying to protect your own interests,” said Kopman. Daniel disagreed.
“I’m going to suggest before you left for Japan, you bought a reciprocating saw at Canadian Tire,” Kopman said. “Correct,” replied Daniel.
“I’m going to suggest you bought it to use in relation to your parents’ death,” snapped Kopman. “That’s incorrect,” Daniel said.
During re-examination, assistant Crown attorney Michael Wilson asked Daniel why he bought the saw. Daniel explained he purchased it for pruning trees. Court has heard Daniel helped his father tend to the garden at the Kingsview Seventh Day Adventist Church where the family was active.
The first officer on scene also testified that he was called to the apartment on Bergamot Avenue and found a couple in the bathtub and they appeared to be decomposing. The officer also smelled a strong odour of gasoline. Veronica Henry, 67, and her husband Colin Henry, 68, both died of fatal stab wounds.
Daniel has already testified he worked as a flight attendant at the time and left for Japan on Sept. 18 and only returned to Toronto on the afternoon of Sept. 20th. He told court he spent the night before the attack with friends attending a two-hour meeting at a high school, before driving to Walmart to get snacks before going to see a movie.
Video surveillance of Daniel’s movements on that night have been shown in court. Daniel denied he returned to the apartment he shared with his parents’ on Sept. 20th after returning to Toronto and said his first time back was when he walked in around 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 21st.
Alpha Henry, 30, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. The trial continues.
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