The last known images of Taylor Samson alive were shown to the seven-man, seven-woman jury hearing the first-degree murder trial of William Sandeson on Thursday.
Sandeson, now 24, is charged in connection with the killing of 22-year-old Samson in August 2015.
Both men were students at Dalhousie University at the time of the alleged murder. Samson was about to enter his fifth year of school and was studying physics, Sandeson was days away from starting his first year of medical school when he was arrested.
READ: Murder trial hears from police, Taylor Samson’s girlfriend
Lead investigator in Samson case continues testimony
Det.-Const. Roger Sayer, a member of the Halifax Regional Police and the lead investigator on the Samson file returned to the stand Thursday for the third straight day.
He told the court that Sandeson was originally arrested for drug trafficking, kidnapping and misleading police, which stemmed from the first time Sandeson spoke to investigators.
During that interview, conducted by Sgt. Charla Keddy on Aug. 18, police did not consider Sandeson a suspect in the disappearance of Samson but a possible witness. The court heard that Sandeson told police that he last saw Samson on Aug. 13, 2015, two days before he was reported missing and provided officers with text messages from an app on his cellphone.
WATCH: William Sandeson’s murder trial shown video of initial police interview
Sayer testified that it wasn’t until after Sandeson left the police station and officers examined his text messages that they realized he and Samson had been setting up a drug transaction involving 20 pounds of marijuana.
He told the court that at that point in time, officers believed Samson may have been kidnapped as part of a drug rip and arrested Sandeson.
Sayer testified that police originally entered Sandeson’s Henry Street apartment without a warrant due to exigent circumstances – meaning there was not enough time to obtain a warrant. Sayer said that police feared for Samson’s safety, believing he may be alive and inside the apartment.
Samson was not located inside the residence. To date, his remains have not been recovered.
READ MORE: William Sandeson ‘confident’ as murder trial begins in Halifax: defence
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Jury sees video of Taylor Samson, William Sandeson together
Once a search warrant was in place, police officers examined the apartment and seized a number of items, including a surveillance system that Sandeson had set up himself .
The surveillance video contained images from three cameras – one showing the hallway leading to Sandeson’s apartment, the second showing the staircase in the building and the third, showing the parking lot.
READ: Murder victim last seen at William Sandeson’s apartment building, prosecutor tells jury
On the evening of Aug. 15, 2015, the video shows Sandeson walking down his hallway and returning with Samson, who is carrying a large black bag with him. The two men go into Sandeson’s apartment together.
A few minutes after the men enter Sandeson’s apartment, a neighbour comes to the door. He is only there briefly and does not enter. During the course of the surveillance video, two other men can be seen walking in the hallway of the apartment building but no one else is seen going inside on the recording.
Video shows Sandeson removing items from apartment, placing in car
The next portion of the surveillance video that was shown to the seven-man, seven-woman jury was from the following day, Aug. 16, 2015. It showed Sandeson and a woman, who Det. Const. Sayer identified in court as Sandeson’s girlfriend at the time, leaving his apartment.
In additional surveillance video, taken over the course of Aug. 16, 17, and 18, 2015, Sandeson is seen on video going in and out of his apartment. In some of the footage, he can be seen carrying a compost bin, spray bottle, large bag, backpack and a large box.
Video played in court shows Sandeson carrying the items down the stairs of his apartment and putting them in the trunk of a vehicle that was parked outside his building.
READ MORE: Accused murderer William Sandeson learning law, participating in own defence
Jury finishes watching video of Sandeson’s police interrogation
The jury also finished watching hours of video which show police interrogating Sandeson following his arrest.
Unlike the initial interview he did with police, when he was still considered a witness and told police he never saw Samson on Aug. 15, 2015 – during his interrogation, Sandeson told two different versions of what happened that night.
First, Sandeson tells the police officer questioning him that while Samson was inside his apartment, several people broke in, stealing cash, drugs and taking Samson with them.
After several hours, he then tells police that he was aware that two men were inside his apartment when Samson arrived but only thought they were there to scare him.
According to Sandeson, the men told him to turn off his surveillance system and pulled a gun on Samson, then he heard a gunshot from another room and believes the men shot Samson in the back of the head and removed him from the apartment in a large black bag that also contained 20 pounds of marijuana.
WATCH: William Sandeson says during interrogation video intruders may have shot Taylor Samson
Court hears about other searches connected to Samson homicide case
Det.-Const. Sayer told the court that a number of items were seized from Sandeson’s apartment on Henry Street and tested for forensic evidence. One of the items he mentioned was a 9mm Smith and Wesson handgun.
READ: Jury shown gun, bullets and cash seized from William Sandeson’s apartment
Sayer testified that police officers also conducted a search at a residence on Chestnut Street in Halifax, as well as a property in Lower Truro, N.S., which was owned by Sandeson’s family. He told the jury that items were seized at both locations and sent for DNA testing.
Sayer also said that the cellphone of Sandeson’s girlfriend, as well as banking information from both Sandeson and Samson, were examined by police.
Taylor Samson case still ongoing
Despite investigators executing multiple search warrants, police have never been able to locate the body of Taylor Samson. For this reason, Sayer testified that the homicide remains open and is still being actively investigated.
Although it’s unusual for there to be a murder trial without a body, it’s not an unheard of situation.
Susan MacKay, one of the Crown attorneys working on the Sandeson trial, told Global News earlier in the week that there is a lot of circumstantial evidence in the case and that the exhibits presented as evidence during the course of the trial are very important for the Crown.
WATCH: How do police lay murder charges without a body?
Justice Joshua Arnold, Crown attorneys Susan MacKay and Kim McOnie and defence lawyers Eugene Tan and Brad Sarson had matters they needed to discuss in a voir dire hearing on Friday afternoon, so the jury was sent home around 12:30 p.m.
Because the jury was not present for the matters, everything discussed between the lawyers and the judge is protected under a publication ban and cannot be reported.
Testimony in the trial is scheduled to resume on Monday. At that time, it’s expected that Sayer will be cross-examined by Sandeson’s lawyers.
Sayer is the 12th witness to take the stand and testify in the case In total, the Crown plans to call around 30 witnesses.
Thirty-two court days, spanning eight weeks, have been set aside to hear the first-degree murder trial.
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