The man accused of stabbing a 15-year-old boy to death thought a “crew” of people was out to get him, a B.C. Supreme Court trial heard Friday.
Cory Daniel Barry, 41, is charged with second-degree murder in the June 2010 death of Justin Wendland, a student at Victoria High School.
The Crown alleges Barry fatally stabbed the teenager twice in the chest at a bus stop outside the Times Colonist building on Douglas Street.
Barry has pleaded not guilty.
On Friday, the trial saw video footage of a police interview conducted by Victoria police Sgt. Mark Catto. The first part of the video was seen in court on Thursday.
The interview took place the day after Wendland’s death and touched on a number of points that have already come out in court testimony, including Barry’s insistence that he was in danger and being followed.
In the interview, Catto suggests that Barry’s attack on Wendland was a case of mistaken identity, a point Crown prosecutor Scott Van Alstine alluded to in his opening statement at the trial.
“I believe you mistook him for being someone he wasn’t,” Catto says in the video.
“I believe that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Barry cries at Catto’s statement.
During the interview, Barry makes a number of references to a “crew” of people he says are out to get him.
Catto suggests to Barry that he mistakenly thought Wendland was connected to his pursuers.
“The reason you stabbed that boy is you believed him to be involved in a gang of people you’re fearful of.”
Catto also links the stabbing to Barry’s statement that he wanted to “send a message” to the gang.
Under questioning on Friday, Catto said Barry seemed coherent and gave considered answers during the interview.
Defence lawyer Jeff Johnston disagreed, saying Barry’s sometimes disjointed narrative raised questions about how much he understood.
The defence is scheduled to begin its case on Monday.
