A Victoria man accused of murdering his two-year-old stepson told an undercover officer he was consumed by anger and rage when he pushed the little boy to the ground and bumped the back of his head several times on the floor.
Bradley Streiling is charged with the second-degree murder of Noah Cownden. The little boy died of a head injury on April 9, 2008, three days short of his second birthday. At the time of Noah’s death, Streiling was living with Noah’s mother Meadow Dykes.
Noah’s death was originally classified as an accident. But five years later, on April 5, 2013, Streiling was charged with the little boy’s death.
Court has heard that in November 2012, the RCMP began a “Mr. Big” undercover operation, recruiting Streiling into a fictitious criminal organization.
Last week, Streiling’s trial in B.C. Supreme Court watched a video of a meeting between Streiling and an undercover officer, posing as a fictitious crime boss. Mr. Big promised to help Streiling by providing him with an alibi for Noah’s death.
“It’s about us fixing this thing,” said the officer. “And they know what caused those injuries, OK. And the story you told them, they know that’s bullshit.”
Streiling, who had long hair tied back in a pony tail, appeared upset and buried his face in his hands several times. He told the officer he has to go a long way back in memories he’s tried to bury.
Noah had been left at home with him that morning because he hadn’t been eating properly, Streiling said. Dykes was at the mall buying a birthday present for Noah’s birthday. The toddler was in his highchair, feeding himself, when he threw up.
“He was a mess,” Streiling said.
Streiling gave him a quick wash and let him play for a couple of minutes in the bath. They were going to meet Dykes and take the children to watch a magic show, he told the officer.
Then Noah slipped in the tub “which is kind of what started it all,” said Streiling. “But it was more just anger or rage over everything that happened at the time. Just rage. And I bumped the back of his head to the floor several times.”
The two were in Noah’s bedroom, he said.
“Noah’s gotten partially dressed and I think I pushed him,” said Streiling. “I’m not even sure it was intentional. It was a fairly brash push. And I just grabbed him by the lower jaw and he fell on the floor.”
The officer pressed Streiling for more details. Streiling said he held Noah by the upper neck and lower jaw and hit him down a couple of times.
“His eyes glossed over and he made a wheezing sound and never woke up.”
Streiling said he panicked and did what he could to wake Noah up, including spraying aerosol on his feet.
“When I started to really freak out, panic, was when it dawned on me, I just wasn’t getting any reaction at all, like no flinching, nothing.”
He grabbed a flashlight and opened Noah’s eyes. There was no pupil dilation, he said. Streiling called Dykes. She came home and called 911.
“What happened? You snapped?” asked the officer.
“I don’t think I realized at the time what had happened. It was just kind of black,” said Streiling.
The Crown called all its evidence in a voir dire — a trial within a trial — to allow Justice Jennifer Power to decide whether the alleged confession by Streiling can be admitted into evidence.
Power will hear arguments on the matter Tuesday when the trial resumes.
The Supreme Court of Canada decided last summer that Mr. Big scenarios are presumptively inadmissible. Under the new rules, the trial judge must decide to what extent the reliability of the confession has been called into doubt by the circumstances in which it was made.
