Jury begins deliberations in trial of B.C. man accused of murdering daughters

The jury in the trial of a B.C. man accused of murdering his two young daughters has begun deliberations on his fate.

Andrew Berry has pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in the killings of six-year-old Chloe and four-year-old Aubrey Berry, whose bodies were found in his Oak Bay apartment on Christmas Day, 2017.

Madame Justice Miriam Gropper told the jury of nine men and three women that they have all the information they need to make a decision, adding she was not telling them what decision to make.

Gropper instructed the jury to come to a conclusion based on a rational and fair consideration of the evidence presented, reminding them that they must come to a unanimous verdict.

“You must not find Mr. Berry guilty unless you are sure that he is guilty,” Gropper said.

WATCH (Sept. 19, 2019): Defence questions crime scene in Andrew Berry trial closing arguments

1:28 Defence questions crime scene in Andrew Berry trial closing arguments

She added that that conclusion must be a 100 per cent yes-or-no answer, noting that they could not decide Berry was “probably” or “likely” guilty.

The jury was also instructed that it was within their power to believe some, none or all of the evidence.

READ MORE: Defence suggests Oak Bay child murder crime scene staged by alleged attacker

Andrew Berry was found in his bathtub suffering from multiple stab wounds, while the two girls were found in their beds, stabbed more than 50 times.

Throughout the lengthy trial, Berry and his defence have maintained that the father and girls were attacked by someone connected to a Vancouver loan shark that he was indebted to.

The Crown argued that Berry, struggling with debts, a gambling addiction and depression had murdered the girls amid fear he’d lose shared custody of them, and likened his defence to “a plot from a low-budget movie.”

If convicted, Berry faces a mandatory life sentence with no chance of parole for 10 years.

-With files from Nadia Stewart