HALIFAX — William Sandeson was motivated by greed when the former medical student carried out a plan to kill another student during a drug deal in Halifax, a court heard Wednesday.
In her closing address to a Nova Scotia Supreme Court jury, Crown prosecutor Kim McOnie said Sandeson had planned to sell the marijuana he stole from the victim to clear a $78,000 debt just as he was starting medical school at Dalhousie University.
"We say Mr. Sandeson hatched a plan to alleviate his financial distress and satisfy his greed," McOnie said. "His plan was to lure Taylor Samson to his apartment, where he would shoot him, take the 20 pounds of marijuana, which he would then be able to sell at a significant profit."
Sandeson, 30, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of the 22-year-old Dalhousie physics student on Aug. 15, 2015.
Earlier in the six-week trial, Sandeson testified that he killed Samson in self-defence, saying he feared for his life when the victim lunged at him during an argument over payment.
Sandeson also admitted to disposing of Samson's body by dumping it in a tidal river that feeds the Bay of Fundy near Truro, N.S. He denied the Crown's allegation that he dismembered the body to make it easier to handle. The accused told the court he never intended to kill Samson, and he said he panicked after the shooting, knowing he would face criminal charges for the death and the drug dealing.
His lawyer, Alison Craig, summed up her client's dilemma by telling the jury: "Drug dealers don't become doctors."
In her final argument Wednesday, Craig challenged the Crown's theory that Sandeson was desperate to pay off debts and make some quick cash. She told the jury that Sandeson didn't need the money because he had three part-time jobs and was earning good money from his own drug dealing, which included selling marijuana, magic mushrooms and MDMA to other Dalhousie students.
As well, she said it made no sense for Sandeson to risk throwing away a promising career for nine kilograms of drugs, which Samson had planned to sell to him for $40,000.
"He had everything to look forward to in life … and he was going to throw it all away for a couple of pounds of marijuana?" Craig said, adding that the jurors must find him not guilty of the charge if they have any reasonable doubts.
"He did not have the intent for murder."Â
She said the Crown's idea that Sandeson was planning to sell the marijuana by the gram to earn up to $100,000 from its street value also made no sense because it would take too long to sell 9,000 grams. The dried leaves would rot before that could happen, she said.
Craig went on to suggest that the Crown's assertion that the killing was well planned was absurd. She noted that her client had left his surveillance cameras on for most of that night, knowing that they would record Samson's arrival shortly before 10:30 p.m.Â
"Why not turn the cameras off until after the shooting, if he knew it advance that was going to happen?" she asked the jury, adding that Sandeson had also planned a trip out of town the following day, which he cancelled the night of the killing.
As well, Craig reminded the jury that Sandeson had removed all personal items from his apartment before the meeting with Samson to make it appear as if the residence was not his — a typical ruse among drug dealers. Again, Craig suggested that made no sense if Samson wasn't expected to leave there alive.
"If this was planned and deliberate, he sure does take home the award for worst plan ever," she said.
Immediately after the shooting, Craig said her client's actions were consistent with an unplanned and unintended shooting. According to Sandeson, the first thing he did was alert his two friends in the next apartment.Â
"If he intended to commit murder, and had just done so, why would he show the aftermath to witnesses?" Craig asked, adding that the two witnesses reported that Sandeson appeared to be in shock and was talking gibberish when they peered inside his apartment.
"He did not intend to kill Mr. Samson," Craig said.
But McOnie said the evidence makes it clear Sandeson needed a get-rich-quick scheme. She pointed to a text he sent to his father a few months before the killing, saying the $78,000 outstanding on a line of credit would be paid off by September. The Crown lawyer also pointed to texts showing Sandeson's excitement when he learned he had been awarded a $7,000 scholarship.
"He needed and he wanted money," McOnie told the court, adding that Sandeson's online correspondence revealed he was eager to find someone to sell a large stash of marijuana to in the summer of 2015.
"To clear off some or all of his debt, the deal had to be a big one — and it was," she said, pointing to texts showing that Sandeson had eventually asked Samson to bring up to 40 pounds of the drug.
As for Sandeson's murderous plan, McOnie said circumstantial evidence suggested the accused had accumulated several cleaning products in anticipation of mopping up a bloody scene.
"How many 22-year-old students do you know have seven litres of bleach in their apartment?" she asked the jury.
McOnie also challenged the notion that Sandeson was left barely able to function after the shooting. She said the evidence shows he quickly set to work cleaning the apartment, a task he finished within two hours.
On another front, McOnie said there was no indication from Sandeson that he did anything to help Samson once he had been shot.
"He focused on the one thing that was of primary importance to him: he picked up the bloodied money on the floor," she said.
She then pointed to texts he sent soon after the shooting, including a message sent to a friend in Australia that declared: "Student loan paid off. I'm squeaky clean now."
The judge presiding over the case, Justice James Chipman, began his charge to the jury on Wednesday. He was expected to resume that process Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 15, 2023.
Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press
