WARNING: This story contains graphic details and images that may not be suitable for all readers.
Evidence in the trial of Andrew Berry, the Oak Bay father accused of killing his two young daughters on Christmas Day 2017, has been released to the public.
The evidence, which includes photos taken inside Berry’s apartment after the murders as well as a note he wrote to his sister from his hospital bed, was made public on Tuesday as a jury weighs two very different narratives in this case.
Berry claims he was tackled twice and stabbed in the throat and chest. He suffered 16 stab wounds and his apartment and clothes were covered in blood.
Globalnews.ca coverage of the Andrew Berry trial
Forensic results revealed Berry’s DNA was throughout the suite, with a 1-in-96 quintillion chance that it could be someone else, the court has heard.
DNA swabs came back identifying three people in the suite, Berry and his daughters Chloe and Aubrey.
The jury has previously heard that there was no blood evidence from a fourth person, known or unknown.
Berry says someone else killed his two daughters and violently attacked him. He had previously testified he had owed a loan shark $25,000 in gambling debts.
Crown says Berry killed his daughters and then tried to commit suicide because he was in severe debt, despised his ex-wife and his parents, and was on the brink of losing custody of his children.
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Berry ends the note saying his ex-wife “treated me so like I didn’t matter, mom was joining in. The lies… created to get their way was absurd and I couldn’t stand up to them.”
Berry previously testified that he was referring to a previous suicide attempt a month earlier. He has said repeatedly that he did not kill his girls and did not try to take his own life on Dec. 25, 2017.
Crown has questioned why Berry didn’t say something or write something declaring his innocence.
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Two new defence witnesses took the stand Tuesday, including Graham Bell, a neighbour who lived across the street from Berry.
Bell testified he saw two women knocking on the windows and peering through the blinds of Berry’s apartment at around 2 p.m. on Christmas Day.
“It was unusual,” he said.
Berry’s ex, Sarah Cotton, previously testified she knocked on the windows but never looked into the windows because if the girls were home she would have heard them. Cotton said she and Berry’s mother went to look for the girls at at a nearby park.
Defence argued Cotton never saw anything because the girls were out tobogganing with their dad.
Crown’s theory is that Chloe and Aubrey were killed around 8 a.m. Christmas morning.
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