The jury in a Kelowna murder trial heard testimony Tuesday about the cause of death and the suspected murder weapon.
The killing happened in June 2015 in a second-floor suite at a Bernard Avenue house near downtown Kelowna.
Warren Welters, 51, was found face down on his bed with obvious and severe head injuries.
His room-mate, Daniel Garth Ruff, is charged with second-degree murder.
RCMP Sgt. Michael Cooke was one of the first officers into the house. “There appeared to be holes in the back part of his head,” he testified. Cooke also said there was a lot of spilled blood.
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Investigators seized many pieces of evidence at the property including clothing, a cell phone, dozens of beer cans, cigarette butts and an empty vodka bottle.
But four items were of special interest as the possible murder weapon: a 20 pound dumb-bell, a heavy flashlight, a screw driver and a claw hammer.
They were taken to the Vernon hospital where the forensic autopsy was performed to be compared by a pathologist to Welter’s skull injuries to see if there was a match.
Sgt. Cooke was at the autopsy, “We believed the hammer was the most likely item that caused those injuries,” he told the jury.
The Crown contends Welters was sleeping or passed out when Ruff delivered four hammer blows to the back of his head.
It’s further alleged the two men did not get along and fought frequently.
One of the upcoming witnesses is a man who was at the home the day of the killing.
He’s expected to testify Ruff confessed to the murder to him and also admitted he used a hammer to inflict the fatal blows.
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