Cory Daniel Barry was an “angry, angry man” on June 3, 2010 and he turned his rage on an unsuspecting Justin Wendland, Crown lawyer Scott Van Alstine said Wednesday in B.C. Supreme Court.
Wendland, a 15-year-old Victoria High School student, was stabbed twice in the chest and died less than an hour later. He was waiting for a bus in front of the Times Colonist building when the attack occurred.
Barry has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder. There will be a day off in his trial Thursday, with proceedings expected to wrap up Friday as closing arguments are completed.
The mental state of the 41-year-old Barry was a key point for defence lawyer Jeff Johnston in his closing argument on Tuesday, but Van Alstine countered that Barry was thinking clearly and rationally enough at the time of the stabbing to be guilty of second-degree murder.
“In my respectful submission, he knew what he was doing and he was aware of the consequences,” Van Alstine said.
He said the basic evidence against Barry is “overwhelming,” and includes Wendland’s DNA being found on the knife authorities say was used to kill him.
The depth of the two stab wounds showed that Barry meant to cause damage, Van Alstine said. Both wounds were in “a vital, vital part of the human body,” he said, with the most severe wound up to 16 centimetres deep.
“This execution, if you want to use that word, was carried out with precision and accuracy.”
Van Alstine said Barry was angry on the day of the killing due to a series of perceived injustices done to him, as well as a recent break-up with a girlfriend.
Clare Jennings, Van Alstine’s co-counsel, said Barry has shown a pattern of being angry acting out on his rage for many years.
Even though Barry may not be a perfect specimen of mental health, he had a clear ability to confer with and understand police when being questioned following the stabbing, Van Alstine said, adding that Barry fled to the Victoria Police Department afterward “out of desperation for his own safety.”
