Those who were there that night say it was a night almost like any other — until it ended with a violent death.
Friends of 21-year-old Thomas Chan took the stand in Superior Court on Tuesday as Chan’s trial continued. He’s pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault. Police allege he killed his father, Dr. Andrew Chan, on Dec. 28, 2015.
Video surveillance played in court on Tuesday shows Chan out with his friends on Dec. 27, 2015, at the Lansdowne Street restaurant St. Louis.
Several friends told court the same thing — that the group met at Chan’s mother’s home on Denure Drive earlier in the afternoon. They had a few beers, and went to the restaurant to get some food and watch the Leaf’s game. Nothing seemed amiss.
Get daily Peterborough news
One witness elaborated on what happened later that night. Chan and his friends decided to buy some magic mushrooms. Under cross-examination, the witness said they purchased an ounce from a local drug dealer.
Chan and two others ate the mushrooms. The witness said he ate some after they did. The witness couldn’t say how much each person ate, but told court he believed he had a smaller amount than Chan and the others.
That was a point the defence hammered at during cross-examination, asking the witness if he knew how much was consumed, and what happened to the mushrooms that weren’t eaten by the group. The witness couldn’t answer those questions.
The witness left early to go home, and told the court he received a FaceTime call from the group at around 2:30 a.m.
It was Chan and his friends, he said. After chatting for a bit, he hung up. Chan called him back about 10 minutes later. He wanted to talk, he testified, and wanted him to come over.
“In hindsight, it seemed strange, a little strange, but at the time, it seemed normal,” the witness said. “He just wanted to see what I was up to.”
The witness said he didn’t notice anyone, including Chan, behaving out of the ordinary.
He found out what happened the next morning, he said.
A young woman who was dating Chan at the time, told court she wrote him a letter after his arrest. He wrote back, she told court, stating that he couldn’t explain what happened.
“I know nothing,” the letter said. “I wish I could explain, but I really don’t know.”